California Love Story (A)
by Stheslayer101
Summary: Austin moves to a new school from Florida to California where a rivalry goes on between Whites and Hispanics. He quickly falls in love with Stephanie, the sister of Carlos, the leader and most respected Hispanic. Some things have to be sacrificed in order for the two to be together, but how many will be hurt? Starring Austin Mahone
1. Chapter 1

_**You can read the sample I also posted to see if you are interested in the story. I made two different version of this story. This one is with Austin Mahone but if you're not a big fan you can read the other one with Justin Bieber. They are both the same stories but with different names and descriptions. I hope you like it.**_

* * *

**Austin**

The buzzing sound of my alarm goes off from the bedside table. Its six o'clock in the morning and it's my first day at a new school. Another reason to not want to wake up, but I manage to get myself up and into the shower. I shuffle through the few boxes I have stacked around my room searching for my clothes. We just got here in Los Angeles last night and I didn't have time to get my stuff out before going to bed. I settled with my Jaws movie t-shirt and I put on my black beanie. I go down the stairs into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Morning, dad, Sarah," I take a seat on the bar stool.

"Good morning, Austin." Brenda, our housekeeper says with a harsh Hispanic accent. Brenda has been our housekeeper for about seven years. Dad needed more help with keeping the house clean. Now that we moved here she has more family to visit.

"Good morning, Brenda." She places a plate of eggs and toast in front of me.

"Austin, I want you to come straight home after school so you can organize that junk in the garage." Sarah, my stepmom, says.

The junk she's referring to is my spare parts I use to upgrade cars, "Alright, Sarah," I say what I can just to please her. Being married to a rich business man has changed her since getting married. She used to be sweet and polite, but over time she developed a snotty attitude towards others.

"Are you ready for a new day at school?" dad asks keeping his eyes in the newspaper.

"Yeah, dad I'm just as excited about going to school as you are about the stocks." Dad never missed a morning paper about the stocks of his company.

He checks his watch, "I better get going or else I'm going to be late for the first day of work." He puts on his coat, "You better get heading to school early to get your schedule."

* * *

**Stephanie**

I can't stand morning people. The ironic part is I have to wake up around the same time teachers do. The only thing keeping me awake in the morning is green tea. I tasted coffee when I was younger thinking it was chocolate milk, I hated it and I still do. Before leaving the house I brew coffee for my older brother, Carlos, and sometimes my mom, but she works almost the entire day.

I get to school five minutes before six. I head into the front office where Elizabeth, the secretary sits. She's a kind woman whose been here long before even Carlos was here as a freshman. She and I are usually the first ones here when the teachers get here around six o'clock.

"Hey Liz," I stand in front of the desk.

She looks up through her glasses, "Good morning Stephanie, how's Carlos these days?"

"Oh you know, he's himself," Carlos used to visit the office a lot and it wasn't voluntarily. "Are there any new scholarship offers today?"

"It's the same answer as yesterday, no," she smirks at me, "How many scholarship essays have you written?"

"About twelve," her eyes widen in shock. I shrug my shoulders, "What? I have to apply to anyplace I can get money from."

"Don't you have your volleyball scholarship?" she asks.

"Not yet, but sports scholarship are too competitive to just act like I'm going to get it." Playing volleyball is something I do to stay out of trouble, but it's not something I want to continue doing when I go to college. I also don't want my mom to overwork herself to pay off my college funds.

"By the way, a little heads up. You're going to have a new student in your Spanish class."

I nod my head, "Great, one more white boy's paper to grade for Mrs. Nunez."

"You never know he might be cute." She says with eyebrows arched.

"Yeah, I doubt I'll notice that." There was a point in my life where all I wanted was to find a guy and have a happily ever after with them, but I learned long ago that truly only happens in the movies. In real life you have to worry about getting a career and paying your bills.

"Just saying, you're young and you work too hard. It's your senior year; you should have some fun before taking on the world."

I start walking towards the door, "I'm focusing on the real world right now." I can tell she was about to say something else but I rush my way to the double doors.


	2. Chapter 2

**Austin**

I grab my keys and take the white Audi A6. Dad bought me the Audi for my sixteenth birthday. I wasn't expecting it but I'm not complaining about it as long as I have transportation to come and go as I please. I park my car in the school parking lot and of course as I expected nearly everyone is looking at me. I'm not a big fan of getting attention but thanks to my car it happens everywhere I go. At my old school I was labeled as the rich boy on campus. It was a nickname I never planned on getting, but it stuck to me like glitter, no matter where I go I shine dollar signs in people's eyes. Brushing off the eyes glazing at me I head into the school and straight to the front office for my schedule.

The day seems to drag on as each class is the same in every school I go to. The teacher asks to introduce yourself, where you came from, and what you like to do as a hobby then other students start to ask you more questions especially in my case questions about my car. By lunch I'm looking for good place to sit and get away from all the attention that I don't need.

I feel a nudge against my shoulder, "You can sit with us if you want, dude." I look at a pretty thin built guy. He extends his hand to me, "I'm Jake,"

I take his hand, "I'm Austin,"

"So where'd you come from?" he asks as he combs his hand through his medium length brown hair.

"Miami," I lived there nearly my whole life and had the friends I needed even changing schools didn't stop that.

"You moved from Miami to California?" he scoffs, "Man that sucks. Why the sudden move?"

"My dad's a CEO and transferred here for the business." It's the same excuse my dad gives me for moving around.

Jake and I talk during lunch. He's an alright guy compared to the other dudes who just ask about my car and who my dad is, but he talked about everything other than all that.

"What class do you have next?" He asks while we walk into the hallway.

I take out my schedule and look at my last class of the day, "Spanish with Mrs. Nunez."

He chuckles, "You're lucky man. That's a pretty easy class. You won't really learn the language but you'll get an easy A for at least trying."

I walk into the class along with the rest of the students there. There are Spanish writing on the board and different picture of Hispanic countries posted all over the walls. Mrs. Nunez looks like she's in her mid-thirties with light brown hair styled back into a ponytail. She sees me and realizes that I'm not one of her usual students.

"You must be our transfer student." She takes the paper from me, "You can take a seat anywhere." I take a seat in the front row against the wall. The bell rings and the last person to walk through the door catches my attention. "_Buenos días clase,_ we have a new student joining us today." She points to me, "This is Austin," she then turns to the girl sitting at her desk, "This is Stephanie, and she is my student aid. If you need any help and I'm busy you can just ask her."

During class we watch a Spanish soap opera. Even with the subtitles on it I still don't understand the drama in it. Wouldn't it be easy to just tell the guy who's in love with you that you love him too? That would save us from a hundred episodes. Suddenly Stephanie sits in the empty desk next to me. She smiles through her full glossy lips, her dark brown hair nearly looks black in the dim light is curled at the ends passing her shoulders.

"Hey, so this is a journal everyone has. Every Friday you write in it answering the questions that Mrs. Nunez gives." She hands me a composition notebook. I notice a tattoo on her hand, it's a Rosario wrapped around her wrist with the cross giving the illusion its hanging on the back of her hand. She looks back at me, "Welcome to L.A."

"Thanks," I whisper to her. She sends me a smile and goes back behind the desk next to Mrs. Nunez. I don't know what it is, but I want to get close to this girl.

After class ends I spot Jake talking to a girl. I wonder if he knows anything about Stephanie. I tap him on the shoulder and wait until he's done talking to the girl.

He turns to me, "What's up, bro?"

"I need information on a girl." It's probably a bad way to say it but it simple and to the point.

He smiles and nods his head, "That I can do. Who is she?"

I look back into the classroom where Stephanie is talking to Mrs. Nunez, "She's in the classroom. She's Mrs. Nunez's student aid."

Jake's expression changes from a playful grin to a worried frown, "Please tell me you're not talking about Stephanie."

"Yeah why,"

He sighs, "Dude, she's bad news."

"What are you talking about?" She seems like a sweet person when she spoke to me or she was acting nice because I'm new.

"Well of course she's not bad but there are things that make hanging out with her bad especially with us." I'm completely lost to what he's talking about.

"You're not making any sense."

He drags me down the hallway away from the classroom, "Look, there's this rivalry thing going on here. It's been going on since we were freshmen. It's basically a race rivalry between the Hispanics and the Whites with every other race caught in the middle of it."

"How did that start?"

"No one really remembers. There have been a dozen speculations to how it started but none of them can be proven true. The point is each group has their most respected man, your girl over there; she's the little sister of the most respected man of the Hispanics. I hate to break it to you," he takes my arm. "You are far from the brown color."

"So you're saying I should just forget about her?" I already knew the answer but I want hear it from him.

He shrugs his shoulders, "If you have a death wish I say go for it, but if not then keep your distance." Great, the one girl I might actually like I have to stay from or else I get my legs broken.

* * *

**Stephanie**

The day feels like it's gone by slowly, but now that schools out for the day I have to get to volleyball practice, another enjoyable thing to take up time in my day even if it's only for an hour and a half. I get my gym bag out of my car and jog to the locker room. I walk in to the same room of girls who can't really stand me due to different shades of skin color we have. I'm one Mexican in a group of seven other white girls who can't stand the sight of me. There are four other biracial girls but they don't bother to speak to me. There were times where I wanted to quit the team because of the hate but I need volleyball for the time occupation. It also helps me mend some past memories I don't want to relive. I pass by Megan, the one girl who truly hates me, who always has something "smart" to say.

"Do you smell beans, Stacey?" Megan says. "Oh it's just Stephanie coming back from Taco Bell."

Megan and I were almost made co-captains, but Coach thought I had more passion. She has long bleach blonde hair, blue eyes and huge tits. She's basically your average _Gringa_ Next Door, all beauty and barely enough brain.

"Oh Megan, your jokes always give me something to laugh at, that and your nose job." Megan and I keep it verbal and never physical. We got into it once during practice and the coach said whoever starts it again is off the team. So now we keep our distance from each other.

After a grueling day of practice and yelling from Coach I'm finally home where I can relax for a short time. I park my car into the uphill driveway. This two story house is where I grew up and always picture it as my sanctuary in hard times. Three triangular arches make this structure, two on the top that forms the roof with one being pushed out further than the others and one wide one that make the roof of the front porch. I put my key in the front door and enclose myself in the safest place I know.

I put my bag down on the couch in the living room, "_Ma_," I call out into the kitchen.

"Hi _mija_," she's packing her purse up, "How was school?" she kisses my cheek.

"Good, same stuff different day." I notice she's wearing her nurse's uniform, "You going to work today?"

"Yeah, I got called in." She takes a breath from running around, "I'm working overtime tonight so can you make dinner for you and your brother?" I nod, "_Gracias mija._"

I look around to the empty house, "Where's Carlos?" I ask.

"He's upstairs working on something for his bike." Carlos graduated high school, but never went to college. Now he's a mechanic at our Uncle Hector's garage. "Alright, I'm leaving." She gives me another kiss on her way out. "_Te amo,_"

"Me too," the door closes behind me and the house is quiet. It's become a routine of our house to be like a library, quiet and bizarre when noise was made.

I head upstairs to my room, but I stop by Carlos's room. His door was closed which means he's working on something and doesn't want to be disturbed, but as his little sister I still manage to get in his room without any complaints. I knock on the door before opening it. When I do he's sitting at his desk, lamp shining in front of him messing with his carburetor.

"Hey Carlos," he sighs and swings his chair towards me. His eyes are dried out from lack of blinking indicating he's been working for hours.

"I'm busy," he blinks a few times to rehydrate his eyes, "_¿Qué pasa?_"

"_Mamás _working tonight, what do you want to eat?" The first thing _Ma_ taught me when I was twelve was how to cook in case it came down to just me and Carlos. Ever since dad died she's been paranoid that she'll be next and leave us all alone.

He rubs his eyes as he stretches in his chair, "Enchiladas?"

"Beef or chicken," Everyone who's had my enchiladas has said the same thing, that they're amazing and I'm the only person that makes them the best.

"Beef, _por favor_," he rubs his stomach with a smile. He's most likely imagining them in front of him now.

"You got it, bro." Before I begin my chef skills in the kitchen I make my way to the room down the hall, my room.

I collapse on my bed. I begin to think about that new guy in Spanish class today he kept looking at me. He is pretty cute with his wavy brown hair that swept over his eyebrows and his hazel eyes. I'm not really attracted to white boys but I can't help it. It doesn't matter anyways; if Carlos saw him in the street with me he would scare him away. I feel every tensed bone in my body relax from a hard day. I groan from the loosening of my muscles. From my stomach, I roll over onto my back to stare up at the ceiling taking a few minutes to myself. No worry, work, stress, or movement.

And then back to reality.


	3. Chapter 3

**Austin**

By the time I get home it's empty with no one other than Brenda unpacking our stuff. I help her out so she won't get bitched at by Sarah on how slow she works even though she's only one person. There've been close calls to where Sarah has threatened to fire Brenda but I usually talked dad out of it. Most of the times I take the fall for the house being messy, which makes Sarah dislike me even more, but I don't care what she thinks she's not my real mother.

I head into the garage after dinner. Brenda made spaghetti; it's been my favorite ever since my real mom first made it when I was five. I work on the first car I got before the Audi. The 1999 Mustang was my starter car where dad taught me how to drive it. It's pretty old but it still works. I do random work on it to make sure it still works if I ever need to drive it. I haven't driven in it since getting the Audi. I mostly keep it in the garage for safe keeping and wash it every few months. Dad and Sarah think it's a waste of time for me to keep it around, but this car has meaning to me. It's when Dad actually had time for me unlike now that he barely had time to spend with me. When I was younger the last thing he taught me was about the birds and the bees. Most of the stuff I learned on my own from movies and T.V shows.

I'm cleaning up the headlights when dad comes in through the door, "I thought I'd find you here cleaning this old piece of junk."

"It's not junk," I uncontrollably burst out at him.

He raises his hands in surrender, "Sorry, how was your first day?" He leaned against the hood of the car.

"Fantastic," I say sarcastically.

He takes a big inhale, "Look son I want to talk to you about the stuff going on around the school."

"You mean about the rivalry going on?" He doesn't answer my question but I know that it's true.

"I didn't know about it until today at work. A woman had a son graduate there two years ago."

"Does she know how it started?" There must be something behind how this whole thing started because nothing this big starts from something so small years ago.

"A girl accused a guy of raping her but there wasn't enough evidence to convict him. She says deaths have happened because of it so I want you to be careful and keep your distance."

I nod my head, "Sure, dad." I might go back on that confirmation but just to keep the old man from a heart attack I'll reassure him.

"She also said that type of story has been covered up for its reasons so I would encourage you not to bring it back up around school." He says.

"Alright, I'll try not to get killed. Thanks for your concern dad." He doesn't say anything else so he just leaves. Every time we talk I always give him the cold shoulder to show him that he's doing something wrong with me, but when he takes it the wrong way I feel guilty for treating him like crap. One day he'll truly understand it but until then I'll continue it.

I lay in bed that night thinking about life then my mind comes across the thought of Stephanie. She's obviously part of the Hispanic side and I have to stay away from her for the sake of everyone's sanity, but there's something about her. I don't know what it is but I want to get to know her.

As soon as I get to school I am in search of Stephanie. I couldn't find her throughout the day but I manage to spot her before Spanish class started. She's walking out of the library with her purse hooked over her shoulder. I follow her hoping she slows down but I begin to speed walk in order to keep up.

I'm a few feet away, but I'm stopped by a tall muscular guy with a faux hawk, "Can I help you with something?"

"Nah, but thanks anyways." I try to walk around him but he blocks my path.

"Look, I know you're new to this school so I'm going to make something clear," he points over at Stephanie who's now talking to a teacher, "That girl is off limits, especially to _gringos_ like you."

"And you are," I ask.

"Someone who cares about her and keeps an eye on her," he stares at me with his light blue eyes trying to intimidate me.

We have a stare down until Stephanie comes in between, "Jorge, leave the new guy alone."

"_Te estaba siguiendo,_" He says in Spanish which makes me wish I was learning the language.

"_Yo puedo cuidar de mí mismo._" The bell rings to go to our next class, "Come on, Austin." We walk together to class with an awkward silence and people staring. Stephanie kept her distance to keep people from watching and talking.

* * *

**Stephanie**

Austin and I walk into the classroom together, but quickly go our separate ways. I was talking to Mr. Jenner about the AP English essay we'll have at the end of the semester when I saw Jorge talking to Austin. It's unusual for Jorge to talk to white boys the only reason he would be talking to them is if he was threatening them or about to put them in their place. I keep thinking about when Jorge said that Austin was following me. Why would he follow me?

Getting to class was odd considering no one has ever seen me walk with someone of a lighter skin color than me. Once class started there was this weird feeling that Austin was watching me, which is natural considering I help out Mrs. Nunez pass out papers and everyone stares as I walk around the room, but I could feel him the most. He and I made eye contact so many times during class. What is his issue? Does he like me or something? I hope not because I can't handle that argument with Carlos right now.

Class ends and I pack up my large purple bag. I head out the door but get stopped by Austin, "Hey Stephanie, can I talk to you for a second?"

I look around hoping that Jorge isn't near us, "I don't think now's a good time."

"I just wanted to say thanks for backing me up with that Jorge guy." He says.

"Yeah no problem, just be careful around him. He's not really friendly with everyone he meets." By everyone I mean white people.

I start walking to the parking lot, but he was still following me, "So what's his deal? Is he your boyfriend or something?"

I scoff, "He likes to think he is, but we're just friends." There's the awkward feeling again when some girls start whispering and pointing at us. I'm usually not rude with people but I can't handle the attention. "I'm sorry, but why are you talking to me and following me around?"

"Well I am new here so I don't have a lot of friends and I was hoping to get to know you."

There are so many problems with that statement, "I'm sure you can find other girls to get to know." I take my keys out of my purse and unlocked my car, "I know you're new but this friendship can't happen for certain reasons. If you don't want Jorge in your face again then you should keep your distance from me. I'm sorry but that's how it is." I get in my car and attempt to start the engine. The engine rumbles then nothing happens. This is just great. My car had a habit of not starting when I needed it to. It's a 1971 Dodge Challenger and it's been in our family before even Carlos was born.

I hear a knock on the windshield. Austin is still standing outside signaling me to roll down the window. I roll it down to hear him, "Pop the hood." He says.

"What?"

"I can fix it for you, just pop the hood." I do as he asks.

He goes under the hood and does something to the engine. I get out of the car to see what he was doing or if he knew what he was doing. I don't know anything about cars but I've seen Carlos do some work on his motorcycle. Austin looks really into fixing my car without any struggle.

After a few minutes he closes the hood, "Okay, try it."

I get in the driver seat of the car and turn the key. The engine started instantly, "Thanks." I say appreciatively.

"No problem, but it won't last long. Right now it's working fine but it's going to break down again soon."

I smirk, "Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure I'm not on the bad side of town when it does."

"I could fix it for you if you want. I have a lot of spare parts that I use to keep my old car working." I can tell this is another attempt to stay near me but Carlos won't fix the car so why not?

"I don't think I could afford to pay you." I'm a little strict with my money only spending it on things I need like clothes.

He shakes his head, "You don't have to pay me. I can do it for free. It won't bother me at all."

I really had to think about this for a few minutes, "Alright, I'll bring it by your house after school tomorrow."

The car actually manages to stay on long enough for me to get home. I get into the house being expected by Carlos. He's sitting on the couch with a face that I'm very familiar with, it's a face that's been in constant thinking about something.

He grabs a hold of my shoulders, "Steph, are you okay?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Jorge called and told me about the _gringo _that was following you." Of course Jorge would tell Carlos considering he looks up to him like a brother and has been there for him since day one.

"It's fine he isn't a threat. Don't get worked up over nothing." Austin doesn't seem like the rest of the white guys I've met. Usually guys get all over me and try to get in my pants, but he didn't. All he really wants is a date.

Carlos sighs running his hands through his hair, "Are you sure?"

"Trust me if anything happened again I would tell you." I can look out for myself now that I'm older and wiser but Carlos doesn't seem to understand that yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Austin**

The house is quiet again, even Brenda isn't home. I head straight up the stairs into my bedroom. I think about today. This whole rivalry thing is for real and I thought it was a minor thing, but the way people stared at Stephanie and I was like us together was never recognized as normal.

I was comfortably power napping until my phone rang, "Hello?" I answer.

"Austin?" The voice sounded familiar but without a face I couldn't think of who it was.

"Yeah, who's this?" I murmur through the phone.

I hear a laugh, "Its Jake,"

I manage to sit myself up from the bed, "What up?" I scratch away the dry drool from my cheek.

"Dude, are you busy tonight?" I look at my clock, it read 6:35.

"No why? What's going on?" I say through a harsh yawn.

"My buddy that's in college is having a party at his house tonight, you got to come with." His voice is full enthusiasm.

I can get out of the house before Sarah get home, "Sure, I could use the load off."

"Alright, I'll come by your house in an hour and we'll head over there."

I hang up the phone and toss it on the counter beside the clock. I've never been invited to a college party, but there's a first time for everything. Plus, I guess it could help me get my mind off Stephanie and this whole drastic rivalry for the night.

An hour passes and Jake drives us to a rich looking neighborhood where all the houses have at least three stories and large pools visible from the front view. I follow Jake up the steps and into the house. The house was so huge that it reminded me of the house you would see on MTV Cribs. The music was bursting through surround sound speakers from the living room. Jake introduced me to nearly every person in the house except for the host of the party.

"Austin, this guy is the best party thrower you'll ever meet. This is Derek." He points to a guy with light skin, blond hair and blue eyes wearing a dark blue polo shirt.

I shake his hand, "Nice to meet you. This is a sweet place you living in."

He nods with a smile, "Thanks, how you liking California so far?"

"It's defiantly different than Miami, but it's not that bad."

"Yeah I'm sure Jake here has filled you in on the whole rivalry thing so if those beaners ever give you a hard time you let me know." He says.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I hope that it won't have to come to that if I plan on getting to know Stephanie.

Derek looks at a couple of girls that look to be juniors at our school, "Look, I got to talk to these girls, but you two keep partying." He walks off in the direction of the girls.

I head back over to Jake who is checking out the girls passing by, "Derek seems like an interesting dude."

"That guy is a legend to us. When he was a senior he could get any girl from any grade he wanted," he pauses to take a sip of his soda, "In fact, he still can now that he's in college. Girls from freshmen to seniors would line up to give their virginities to him. He's been given so many virginities than anyone can get in a lifetime."

"Interesting stuff," I say sarcastically. Derek seems like a cool guy but I'm pretty sure he's the kind of guy who uses girls for his own popular standards.

Jake begins to nudge my shoulder, "It looks like Megan's checking you out, bro." I look over at a beautiful blonde girl with hair put half way up walking towards me, "Make a move, bro." he says shoving me in her direction and casually walks away.

"Hi, you must be Austin." She exchanges her hand in a girly gesture. "I'm Megan,"

"Nice to meet you," I shake her hands, "I've been here for two days and already a pretty girl like you knows who I am?"

She shrugs her shoulders, "Well I guess you can say I'm a popular person so nothing gets passed me."

I act shock, "Oh really," I say sarcastically, "you must be queen of the school." Most of the girls who claim themselves to be popular they're just attention seekers that easily get it, but I'm not one to judge too quickly.

"You can say that. I know a lot about everyone at school."

"So do you know a Hispanic girl named Stephanie?" I don't know where this is going but let's see what can come out of it.

She raises her eyebrows, "Why, is she giving you trouble?"

I innocently shrug my shoulder, "Something like that." I don't want get Stephanie into any trouble but I want to know her story.

Megan takes a breath before speaking, "Well the only thing we have in common is that we're both on the varsity volleyball team and with poor decision she's the team captain."

"Is that the only thing you two have in common?" I teased.

"Pretty much, but she's pretty dangerous. Besides if you want real danger you should stick with me."

* * *

**Stephanie**

I wasn't too excited about getting to Austin's place, but I need someone to fix my car and Carlos won't do it. I don't tell Carlos where I'm going because I know he'll overreact to the idea and I'll be under his supervision for weeks.

I bring the Dodge to his house. He works on it in his garage in order to keep people who pass by from staring. He's under the hood doing who knows what while I'm leaning against the car. The first few minutes of being there it was nothing but awkward silence. He spoke first.

"So what's the story behind the tattoo on your wrist?" He asks.

I automatically look at my wrist where my rosary tattoo is then I cross my arms, "Where did that come from?" I didn't really expect him to ask me that question first, but he did.

"Just so we don't have to spend the rest of the time in an awkward silence." He says it from underneath the hood never looking up at me.

I stay quiet for a minute then realize he's right about the silence, but I'm not going to tell him about the tattoo. "I just got it."

"Okay, so you got any brothers or sisters?" He asks.

"I only have an older brother."

"What does he do?"

"He works at our uncle's garage as a mechanic." I say.

Finally he sticks his head out from underneath the hood of the car, "Your brother's a mechanic and your car is constantly breaking down." I nod my head, "Why don't you ask him to fix it for you?"

I sigh, "The car belonged to our dad."

"Where's he now?"

"He died of cancer when I was three and my brother just turned seven. He left behind the car. I was the only one that was willing to take it. My brother never wants to go anywhere near it, let alone touch it." I was too young to remember my dad; all I have to remember him by is his car and a few pictures _Ma _keeps around the house.

"I'm sorry," He says with so much sympathy in the tone of his voice. "So what does your mom do?" He gets back under the hood to change the subject.

"She's a nurse," Ever since dad died mom works more often than a nurse usually should but she does it to support the family. Carlos doesn't like it because he's the man in the house but with just a high school diploma won't get him any well paid job.

"I always thought all moms are nurse. I guess there are just those who nurse other people other than their kids." He makes a good point. _Ma_ was always there when I got sick now that I'm older she's there for others with worse illnesses than a fever.

I decide to get to know Austin considering he's fixing my car for free, "What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

He doesn't answer right away, but he eventually does. "Nah, I'm an only child. My parents got divorced when I was seven and my dad got custody of me. Then he remarried. Work got in the way so they never had a chance to have any more kids."

"What about your mom? Do you ever see her?"

He pauses what he's doing and just stares at the engine of the car. "My mom kind of separated herself from us after she remarried and started a new family." It's sad when you only have one of your actual parents, but knowing they moved on and have restarted their life with someone else.


	5. Chapter 5

**Austin**

It takes almost two hours to get the car completely fixed and delaying it from entirely breaking down.

"Alright, it won't break down for a good while, but you should keep an eye on it after about three months." I wipe my hands in my cloth.

"Yeah I doubt my brother would like to do that, but thank you for the adjustments. I don't know how I can repay you for doing this." She says.

"Well what are you doing right now?"

She thinks for a moment before answering, "Nothing, now that I think about it. Why?"

"I heard there was a carnival at the pier. Do you want go?" Being in a stress relieving area could help Stephanie open up to me.

She shrugs her shoulder, "Okay, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go."

We take the Audi to the carnival. When we get there the music is loud, echoing throughout the pier with the loud screams of little children running around in excitement from the sugar rush of candy. There are so many temptations around us, from the food to the rides.

We pass a clown that's making balloon animals; he makes a flowering and gives it to me. I look over at Stephanie who is actually smiling. I give her the flower balloon and her smile slowly fades into a surprised look. She doesn't say anything, but you can see in her green eyes that she was thankful for it. She continued to walk with the balloon in her hand.

About an hour and a half passes by fairly quickly. To my surprise I was able to get out the basic information out of Stephanie. She told me she's been on the volleyball team since junior year and that her brother's name is Carlos. The sun is nearly gone and the sky is transitioning from a bright yellow-orange to a dark purple. Stephanie and I stand in line for the Ferris wheel. She stood there looking up to the sky with the flower balloon and a stuffed elephant I won for her at a milk bottle game booth. The elephant was gray, about fourteen inches long, a trunk curved in an S form, and with large floppy ears. We walk into the basket shaped seats with an umbrella over our heads.

"So do you have a boyfriend?" I ask to pass the time.

She scoffs, "You take me to a carnival, win me an elephant and now you choose to ask me if I'm single?"

"Well it never came to mind considering you agreed to it."

"In that case, no I don't have one." She says it with pride like it's a relieving thing to know.

"What about Jorge?" He obviously likes Stephanie but does she like him back in anyway?

"Jorge and I met in middle school. We dated once when we were sophomores, but I wasn't thinking at the time and I realized that I only loved him as a friend."

"Does he know that?" I ask.

"I don't know. He's protective over me for reasons that can't really be explained to people." She says with a thought of past demons that I didn't mean to bring back. "What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" She murmurs with a smirk.

"Not recently," I'm not the type a guy who always flirts with different kinds of women but when there's one that gets my attention without trying, I have to pursue it. "I don't have any girls like Jorge either but I'm not complaining." She laughs and the Ferris wheel comes to a stop at the bottom where we started.

Once we get off the Ferris wheel we walk out towards the pier. I suddenly see a familiar face in the crowd.

"Hey if it isn't Austin," Derek shouts out to me.

I give him a fist pump, "What's up, bro?" I ask.

"I'm meeting a couple friends to scope out the place for some chicks. Who are you here with?"

"I'm here with a friend," I turn to look for Stephanie, but she has disappeared from sight, "I guess she had to go to the bathroom."

"Yeah, you know girls and their makeup time." He says jokingly.

"Right," I continue to look, "I better go catch up with her I'll talk to you later."

He nods his head. "Same to you, man. Say hi to Jake the next time you see him." I make my way around Derek in search for Stephanie.

Suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look to see Stephanie, "Where'd you go?" I ask.

"I got distracted and totally lost you in the crowd." She says.

"Are you okay?" She has a look on her face like she was running up a hill and finally took a rest top.

She nods her head. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired can we get out of here?"

"Of course," I guide her to the parking lot and make our way back home.

* * *

**Stephanie**

Austin drove me back to his house then I took my car back home. I get in the house to the same silences I'm already used to. _Ma _is at work and Carlos is already asleep at his desk as usual. I immediately head to my room and sit on the corner of my bed. I look at the elephant Austin won for me and I put it on the shelf beside my bed. This may be crazy but I think I might like this guy. I haven't felt this way about a guy in a long time. It's a good thing for me, but how is everyone else I know going to react to this whole thing. The worse part of it all is that Austin is friends with him. I have a bad feeling about it all but I'm willing to take the chance for him. Is he willing to take the risk? If so, can he handle the truth of my past? A truth I can't even handle most of the time.

The next time I see Maria is at school. Since she's my best friend I tell her about my get together with Austin and, of course, I get the response I expected.

"_¿__Estás loca?_" She whispers loudly to me, "Do you know what Carlos will do if he finds out about this?"

"He's not going to find out unless you tell him."

"What do you want me to do? Keep my mouth shut?"

"I'll tell him. I just won't tell him right away." She gives me an unbelievable look, "_No me mires así._"

"How do you want me to look at you? You're dating a white boy and you're going to hide it from everyone." She says speeding through her sentences.

"Look, we're getting to know each other right now so-" I'm interrupted by collision with Megan.

She looks at me with a face of disgust, "Poor Stephanie can barely speak English now she's going blind."

Maria steps up to her, "_Alguien está a punto de ver las estrellas amarillas_." I hold her back before she decides to do something stupid.

"Maria, let's go." I guide her by the shoulder away from Megan.

She scoffs, "I don't know how you take that crap from that _perra_. If I were you I would've knocked her lights out a long time ago."

"I know but I need volleyball." I don't mind Megan anymore because in the end of high school I know that I'll be going to college and she'll be a housewife taking care of her kids and getting fat.

I get to Spanish class and immediately can't take my eyes off Austin. The entire class time he kept asking for help whenever Mrs. Nunez is busy helping another student so she would send him to me. It didn't work the first few time but when Mrs. Nunez is talking to a student about their grades and missing assignments, she sends me to help him.

I sit in the empty desk beside him, "So what do you need help with…again?" I ask.

He smiles, "I was just wondering how you would ask out a girl in Spanish?"

"Oh, is there a specific girl you're planning on asking out. Do I know her?" I say with sarcasm in my voice.

"I think you might, she's a student aid too."

"Maybe I do. So when do you want to go out?" I know I should end this whole thing before it starts but I can't help myself.

"How about today after school," he asks.

"I can't I have volleyball practice today and after that I'm hanging out with some friends. If you want you can come with us."

"I don't think I'll blend in very well. Plus, I don't think I'll be able to handle the death stares."

I shake my head, "Nah, my friends aren't like Jorge they accept everyone no matter what color." That's the number one reason why I've kept those friends close by because they just live like everyone else.

"Then I'll pick you up at your house."

Volleyball practice goes by pretty quickly with more aggravation when Megan refused to spike a ball and blames me for not getting it because it was closer to me. I finish getting dress when I feel eyes on me. I turn to see Megan and a few of her friends glaring at me.

Megan uncrosses her arms, "I saw you with Austin at the pier." I shrug my shoulder acting like I have no clue what she's talking about, "Gosh Stephanie, can't you stay away from white guys."

"Trust me Megan I have enough will power to stay away as much as you do with the volleyball." I tie my shoes and pick up my bag.

"I swear, if you try anything to get attention like you did four years ago I will make your life miserable and nobody will believe you."

I clench my jaw muscle trying to resist the temptation to knock her lights out. "You listen to me Megan. My personal life is none of your business so I would appreciate it if you would mind your own business and stop trying to scare me with your bullshit threats. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do." I walk passed her with a smile on my face.

She can believe what she wants about what happened years ago but I'm moving forward into the future. All I'm thinking about is hanging out with my friends and Austin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Austin**

I drive up to the address Stephanie gave me in the Audi. The neighborhood looks somewhat regular compared to mine, but completely opposite to Derek's neighborhood. I get out the car to make my way up the small steps of the house.

"Hey white boy," I turn considering I'm the only white guy in this neighborhood. A group of guys begin to walk towards me. "Are you lost?" The same guy asks looking at me through his long ear length hair. His tribal tattoo on his shoulder is revealed through his black wife beater and a star on the back of his hand in between his thumb and index finger.

"I don't want any trouble," I say surrendering my hands in the air.

"Any white boy that comes around here has to be looking for _problemas__._" He says.

"Hey," Stephanie says coming down the steps, "_¿Qué está pasando?_" She says to the group.

"_¿Conoces a este gringo?_" Nowisthe time I knewSpanish. By the body language I'm getting it seems like they're talking about my being here.

She nods her head, "Yeah," she gestures at the house, "Carlos is inside."

The group passes by me up the steps, "Catch you later, white boy." The guy says before heading in the house along with the group.

I turn to Stephanie, "What was that about?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "That's Alex. He and Carlos are really close. He's likes to consider me a little sister; even though, he has two of his own. Plus, he's just as overprotective."

"Great, instead of worrying about one brother I have to worry about two." We laugh. "So when is the group getting here?"

She points across the street to a group coming towards us, "Oh, here they are." She hugs and greets her friends, "Guys, this is Austin. He just moved here from Miami."

"Alright, the tropical land," One of her friend says. He steps forward to shake my hand, "I'm Luis." He has a thin layer of hair and a piercing on his left eyebrow along with pierced ears. He's wearing a blue shirt underneath a gray hooded jacket.

"Now that you've met Luis," She points to the rest of the group, "This is Paco, Gabby, and my best friend Maria." Maria seemed to not like me very much. She has a look on her face that says 'I don't trust you.' Hopefully by the end of the day I can convince her I'm not a bad guy.

* * *

**Stephanie**

I can already tell that Maria doesn't believe Austin. She's been keeping her distance from him unlike everyone else who's been really social with Austin. We take Austin's car in the worry that Alex or Carlos might do something to intimidate Austin from coming back. We decide to go to a bowling alley that is owned by Luis's parents so he lets us play for free.

Two hours have passed since we started playing. The first round we played was boys vs. girls with the girls winning, then in the second round it's a group of two and, of course, Austin and I get stuck together as a team. We manage to pull out a win for ourselves after Austin pulls off a strike. After awhile of playing we take a break from playing to relax.

"How long have all you guys known each other?" Austin asks.

"Ever since sophomore year," Paco replies.

"Maria and I have known each other since middle school." I say looking at Maria sitting across from Austin and I with her arms crossed.

"Sophomore year was the dopest year of our high school life." Gabby says.

"Hell yeah it was," Luis outbursts, "We were the craziest kids at school, always partying and slacking-off."

Austin raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Seriously, what kind of crazy stuff?"

"I remember when Stephanie came up with the idea to pull the prank on the teachers." I had a feeling that this was going to come up so I prepare myself for it.

"Oh yeah, we filled garbage cans with water and leaned them against the front door of their house then ding-dong ditched then once they answered the garbage would fall and they're would be water everywhere."

Austin turns to me, "You instigated that prank?" He says with shock in his voice.

I shrug my shoulders, "I was young," I did a lot of stupid stuff when I was young and it got me nowhere in life, but trouble.

"Is that when you got the tattoo?" He asks about the tattoo again.

"My cousin did that for her. We all got one the same day." Paco says.

"It's a tattoo that you regret getting but stick with it anyways." I eventually didn't want to keep the tattoo anymore but I can't afford to get it removed so I just got used to it and kept it as a reminder of my past mistakes.

After surviving the conversation of my rebellious past we all decide to call it a night and head home. Austin drives everyone home until it's just me and him left parked in front of my house again.

"Well I hoped you enjoyed yourself while laughing about my past." I say.

"It's not that bad. So you had a defiant side when you were younger so did I. Why did you try to hide it?"

"Because there's more to it than just a couple of pranks and a mischievous attitude," My past is really difficult to understand depending upon who tells it and their point-of-view of it.

"Then tell me what else was there?"

Before I can answer I hear a tap on the windshield and the door swings open. The next thing I know Carlos is pulling me out of the car and up the steps.

I can hear Austin getting out of his car. "Hey,"

Carlos faces him, "Get back in your car and don't come back."

"What's your problem?"

I get in between the two before Carlos made the first move, "Austin, its okay just go please." I reach for his shoulder and slight push him the other direction.

Without taking his eyes off me he slowly walks down the steps and over to his car. I follow Carlos up to the porch and into the house to prepare for my doom.

Carlos slams the door behind us, "What were you doing with that _gringo_?"

"We went to the bowling alley with Maria, Gabby, Paco, and Luis." I can already see the overreaction in Carlos's face.

"What is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?" He shouts.

"_Cálmate_, gosh you're being melodramatic over nothing." To me, this was a regular hangout day with friends.

"Do you want to repeat what happened your freshman year?" I don't answer him, "Stephanie, be careful." He wraps his arms around me with a hug of comfort which is something that rarely happens.


	7. Chapter 7

**Austin**

After dropping off Stephanie and having a weird confrontation with her older brother, I head home before Sarah would interrogate me about where I was. As soon as I walk through the door I'm approached by the woman I was hoping to avoid.

"Austin, where have you been?" She asks removing her studded earrings.

"Hanging out with friends," I reply simply. "My day was great. How was your day, Sarah?" I say sarcastically.

"Quit the attitude," she says. "Don't forget that I'm hosting a party for your father's co-workers and I expect you to be there to meet them."

"No problem, Sarah." I say heading into the kitchen.

I walk in to see Brenda washing the dishes, "_Hola _Austin, are you hungry?"

"Hi Brenda, no thank you I'm fine." I sit on the barstool. "Brenda, can I ask you something?"

She finishes up the last dish, "Of course, what is it?"

"Where are you originally from?" Knowing her for so long I've never asked her what part of the Latin place she is from.

"I'm from Cuba." She says with pride.

"Coming here, did you ever have to deal with people judging you because of where you're from?"

"When I came here I couldn't speak English to save my life but I eventually learn to. It's difficult at first but over time it comes naturally. Why do you ask?"

"Just this girl I like." I always consider Brenda as a second mom to me so its so much easier to talk about personal things with her than with Sarah.

"What's her name? Where is she from?"

"Her names Stephanie and she's Mexican but I don't know what part of it she from. She has an older brother who hates white people."

"Why?" She asks the question I wonder.

I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know it obviously has to do with some stupid rivalry that happened years ago."

"And it's affecting your relationship with Stephanie."

I nod, "Yeah, I want to get close to her, but everyone just keeps pulling us away from each other."

Brenda places her hand on my wrist, "Well I don't think you should give up on her if you're heart doesn't want to. I say listen to your _Corazon_, but be careful because if this whole violence is serious then you shouldn't push it to the edge."

"Thanks Brenda."

"Now you should get some sleep or else you'll get dark circles and you're too handsome to have those on your face."

I take her advice and head upstairs to bed. Hopefully tomorrow brings a better day.

* * *

**Stephanie**

I was lucky to survive a lecture from Carlos or my mom. I don't think Carlos told mom about Austin, but I don't think mom would've had time to listen to him due to her hectic schedule. Instead we hugged it out and I went to bed.

Maria and I are sitting outside for lunch. Since meeting Austin she's been a little quiet and distant. Sometimes she acts like a mother figure to me such as always looking out for me, asking where I've been, and advising me on what I should or shouldn't do in certain situations.

Ever since going to the bowling alley I haven't been able to stop myself from mentioning Austin, "…I think he has a really nice smile that goes well with his face considering the fact that I'm attracted to white guys."

She rolls her eyes, "_Ya basta_. I can't take any more information about that white boy."

"He has a name." I say with strictness in my voice.

"Yeah, I know you've mentioned it a thousand times already. How much longer do expect to keep this up because sooner or later Carlos will find out that you're serious about the whit-Austin and he will kill you metaphorically and him literally."

"You think I don't know that?"

"Well obviously not since you're risking everything and keeping everything from your family."

"What can I say, Maria? There's something about him that's different than any other guy I've met and I don't want to lose that, not yet anyways."

Before she can answer me we're interrupted by Jorge, "Hey," he says to me then looks at Maria, "Hey Maria, do you mind if I talk to Stephanie for a minute?"

She gets up sighing, "Take all the time you need." Before I know it, Maria leaves and I'm left alone with Jorge.

"Steph, I'm getting worried about you."

I already know where this conversation's heading, "Jorge, you don't have to worry about me I can take care of myself."

"You're getting too close to this guy and you're going to get hurt again. This time I won't stand by and let history repeat itself."

I scoff, "We both know why you don't want him near," he looks at me quizzically, "Because you're scared. Scared that I might develop feelings for him," It didn't work out between us and he thinks that something might happen between Austin and me.

"I know you're trying to forget about what happened freshman year and move on with your life, but you can't forget what that _gringo _did. They all want the same thing because they're the same no matter what."

"I am not going to live my life avoid white people because of something that happened years ago." I pick up my bag, "And you're wrong, they're not all the same." I leave Jorge behind and walk off to my next class.

I know what this is doing to everyone but I just can't forget about this opportunity and I refuse to live in fear of the past. I'm older and the past is done with. I will go on making my own choices with or without support along with any consequence there may be in the future. Jorge is looking out for me like any other friend would and I understand that but there are something I need to do on my own without anyone nagging at me about the choices I make or are about to make.


	8. Chapter 8

**Austin**

It was fun spending time with Stephanie's friends but I'd preferred to spend some time alone with her. I take her to the beach, a place where anyone can relax and get their mind off everything. I drive us down in the Audi, Stephanie asked me to meet her a few blocks away from her house in order to avoid her brother seeing me and possibly killing me.

As soon as we get to the beach Stephanie changes out of her casual clothes and into a black and red bikini with an oversized cut up t-shirt. We talk about the fun time we had the other night. While she's building a sand castle I see her tattoo again and wonder if maybe she'll answer my question this time.

"So what is the real story about the tattoo?" I ask.

She doesn't respond and at first I think she didn't hear me until she sighed. "I wasn't always dedicated to school. There was a time where I didn't care about anything, not my future or life. I got the tattoo out of a rebellious phase. It was sophomore year when I was always getting into trouble. I drove myself to insanity until my mom and Carlos started to worry so they took me away to Mexico for the summer and I got my act together when I came back."

I never thought of Stephanie being rebellious or getting into trouble considering how much hard work she does. "You ever thought about getting the tattoo removed or anything?"

She slowly shakes her head, "No,"

"Why not," The tattoo obviously has a huge meaning on how her life turned upside down; keeping the ink doesn't really make sense.

She raises her hand to look at the inked Rosario, "Every time I look at it I remind myself of how my life was going nowhere because of the choices I was making. If I keep it I know that I'll never go back to that lifestyle again."

Another question comes to mind, "What caused the fallout?" I ask.

She smirks, "In time I'll tell you. For now, I'll only give you parts of the truth. I don't tell you the whole truth because I don't want to scare you away. Eventually you'll get the whole truth," She stands up and removes her oversized t-shirt, "You just have to be patient." She runs to the ocean shore into the waves.

I take off my shirt and run in after her. I find her through the splashing water. She pounces at me pushing me down into the water. Once I reach the surface I find her laughing at my reaction. I run towards her, wrap my arm around her waist and take her down in the water. We both laugh after she stands up realizing what just happened. She sinks to the bottom until I lose her in the sight of the constant flowing of the water. She stays down long enough to where I think she's drowned herself until she rises up from the water behind me jumping on my back. The jump turns into a piggyback ride that she begins laughing with joy, something I haven't fully heard. I spin around until we both land into the deep ocean water. I get to the shore first and I help Stephanie up as well. A wave rushes behind her and pushing against her legs into me. I catch her. I look into her bright green eyes shimmering off the sun's glaze. I suddenly catch myself looking at her glossy full lips then I realize that she's looking at my mouth too.

In that moment, our lips touch, and adrenaline rushes through me. I run my hand passed her cheek and into her wet long hair. I can feel her hands on my skin. One hand is at my side and the other is on my wrist as its still in her hair. I feel the moisture of the lip gloss against my lips. This is a moment that I would love to last forever.

* * *

**Stephanie**

After taking a short swim, Austin and I lie together on the sand staring at the sun starting to set and the waves splashing back and forth throughout the ocean. I lean back against Austin's chest enjoying the feeling of his body warmth against mine. I don't think I can remember the last time I was relaxed and sitting still for such a long period of time.

The moment ends when Austin's phone rings. He picks it up and read the text message that was sent.

"Shit," He whispers to himself.

I turn to face him, "What's wrong?" I ask.

He sighs, "I forgot about my stepmom is holding a party for my dad's co-workers. It's supposed to be some sort of house warming party."

"Then we better get going that way you can drop me off and get to your house in time." I say.

"Don't you want to come? You're welcome to." He says smirking.

I shake my head, "Nah, you don't have to. Besides I'm not a party person." Well not anymore anyways.

"Trust me; meeting my dad's co-workers isn't the most thrilling thing to do for me. It would make me feel better if you were there too."

I think about it for a minute then eventually give in, "Alright, I guess I can stay for a little while."

I change into the casual clothes I came here in then got into the Audi with Austin. Once we get to his house there are so many cars parked around the street. Bright lights lit up from the house then my stomach begins to knot up as I get closer to the front door with Austin. We enter to see a house full of people, mostly white people chatting with each other and laughing.

"Austin," A thin blonde middle aged woman says coming towards us. "You are late and I told you to get here on time. Is that too much to ask?" Her eyes turn to me. "You must be Brenda's niece. Now the kitchen is down the hall to the left and you'll find her."

I look over at Austin who's shaking his head, "No, Sarah this is Stephanie from school."

"Oh," She stays in an awkward silence then looks back at Austin, "Now you, mister go upstairs and put on your good clothes so you can meet your guests."

"I'll be right back." Austin slowly walks towards the stairs hesitating to leave me alone, but eventually does.

I walk through the house feeling like the black sheep in a heard of white cattle. Everyone in the house is in formal dresses and suits. I have on a denim jacket over a white lace tank top, cropped jeans, white Nike Air Forces, and a grey beanie on my damp head. I can feel so many eyes glaring at me like I don't belong which is the truth, but I shake it off as best I can.

Soon I become overwhelmed by the stares and rush to the nearest bathroom. I lock the door and lean against the sink. I begin to think to myself. _What am I doing here?_ I look at myself in the mirror and see that my hair is a mess. I take off my beanie, tucking it in my back pocket. I comb my hair back into a ponytail to try and hide the frizz of my curly damp hair. My curls bounce at the end of the ponytail.

I walk back into the hall with the same eyes staring at me. I go into the living room to find Austin. I find him, but he's not alone. He's talking to Megan. They're laughing together and Megan has her hand on Austin's shoulder. She's most likely turning on the charming flirtation that she's so used to doing to get guys into her grip. My breathing becomes heavy then it suddenly hits me that I should go. I leave through the front door Austin and I had walking through when we got here. I run down the steps and start walking down the street in the dark not knowing where I'm heading. The faster I walk away the less music I hear from the house until it's finally quiet and I hear nothing, but the dogs barking in the backyards and the grasshoppers.

I stop once I find a playground with no one insight. I sit on the swing set, rocking myself back and forth I think about everything that happened today. When I kissed Austin I felt something different like every plan I've made for my future doesn't matter unless I have him close by.

In the middle of my thinking my phone vibrates in my back pocket. The caller ID reads Austin's name. I hesitate to pick it up but I eventually will have to after today.

"Hey," I murmur through the phone.

"Hey, where'd you go?" I get goose bumps after hearing the sincerity in his voice.

I tell him where I am and within seven minutes from calling he drives up in his car. He must've left the party immediately after he called because he's still wearing his formal clothes. He looks so attractive in his grey plaid button up shirt with a black vest over it and his black pants.

He sits in the empty swing next to mine, "What happened? Why'd you leave?"

"I couldn't stand the people staring at me." I kick the sand at my feet.

He sighs, "I'm sorry, I should've seen it coming."

"No, it's not your fault. It's every person who believes that if your skin color is different than you're different."

I suddenly feel his warm hand over mine, "Some people are just too scared to take the chance and go out of their comfort zone." He smiles.

He passes it to me and I smile, "What am I doing with you?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know. What are you doing with me if you don't mind me asking?" He says still keeping his smile.

"I guess it's because when I'm with you I don't know what to expect. I always look forward to whatever might happen. Ever since I got my crap together, I've been planning out my life to what I'm going to do tomorrow to what I'm going to do in five years from now. You make me just want to…live."

"I see," he begins to blush.

"You want to know what's crazy."

He's now standing in front of me with his hands on the chains of the swings, "What's that?" He murmurs.

I look up into his eyes, "I think I'm falling in love with you."

"You know what else is crazy?" I shrug my shoulders, "I'm already in love with you." He whispers in my ear.

I'm speechless to this encounter between us now that everything it out in the open. Our feelings for each other are known but where does this lead between us.

"Come on I'll take you home." He takes my hand as we walk towards his car.

I let go of his hand when I see a familiar car coming in our direction. It's Alex's car in the passenger's seat I can see Jorge. Once the car stopped in front of us Jorge was the first one out of the car followed by Alex.

"Get away from her." Jorge shoves Austin away from my side.

"¿_Qué están haciendo aquí?_" I ask demandingly.

"Carlos is looking for you when you didn't come home on time." After my sophomore year fallout Carlos gave me a curfew to be home at a certain time and if I didn't he would come out looking for me. I forgot to check the time and now I'm dead.

Jorge turns his attention to Austin, "I thought I already told you to stay away from her."

"She's a grown girl, why don't you let her make her own decisions." He says.

I push Jorge back, "Jorge no, leave him alone. Let's just go." I plead with him.

Alex and Jorge grab me by the arm and take me to the car. I look over my shoulder to see Austin. I can tell he wants to do something to keep me here but I don't want him to get hurt by both Alex and Jorge.


	9. Chapter 9

**Austin**

It hurt to see Stephanie get taken away from me but I can't take her away from her family. It hurt even more now that I know she wants to be with me like I do. I hope she won't get into too much trouble because of me.

By the time I get back home the party is over and of course Sarah is not happy with me leaving it.

"Where have you been?"

"Sarah, can we not do this right now?" I just want to get away from her and the yelling.

Dad tries to butt in, "It is late, and maybe we could continue this tomorrow, honey?"

"No, we will do this right now." She has her fist on her hips, "I ask you to do one simple thing and that was to be here and meet people. Instead, you arrive late and you bring that girl here."

"That girl has a name."

"I don't care, her kinds of people are not allowed in this house unless-."

I interrupt her before she continues to lecture me, "First of all, you don't know her and second of all, she's a human being not a "kind" of person to you." I erupted on her.

I walk into the kitchen, leaving Sarah flabbergasted in the hallway from my shouting and firing back. Brenda is the only one in the kitchen, as usual, doing the dishes. I stand beside her by the sink, roll up my sleeves and help her.

She's smirking at me, "What?" I ask.

"I heard what you said. That was sweet of you to stand up for that girl."

I take a breath, "She shouldn't treat her any different just because she comes from a different background."

"I think I like this girl. I would love to meet her someday."

I nod my head, "I would love for you to meet her too."

After Brenda and I finish cleaning up the dishes I head upstairs to my room. I sit outside on the small balcony looking up at the stars and thinking about that kiss I shared with Stephanie. I hope she okay, by now she has to be home possibly suffering from a lecture like Sarah tried to give to me.

* * *

**Stephanie**

I enter the house of noise once Jorge and Alex drop me off. Alex, of course, tells Carlos everything that he saw. He sits me down in the living room, but doesn't say anything. All he does is paces back and forth in front of me.

"¿Qué está pasando?" He finally says. I shrug my shoulder without answering. "Are you trying to rebel against me?" I shake my head. "¿Entonces? Are we having problems again?"

"Carlos nothing happened." Nothing other than kissing Austin, but I'm not going to tell him. "We were just hanging out."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"I did."

"You said you were going out, you didn't say who you were going out with." His voice keeps rising after every sentence.

"Yeah, because I knew you would react like this and you'd send Alex or Jorge to watch me." I am a grown woman and I don't need babysitter watching my every move whenever I go out.

Just in time _ma _comes walking through the door with a tired look on her face. I have a feeling she not going to have enough energy to deal with Carlos and me which makes me feel like a burden to her.

She can immediately tell there's something going on, "¿Qué está pasando?"

"_Ma, _do you know what Stephanie was doing today?" He asks pointing at me.

She shakes her head, "No. ¿Por qué? What was she doing?"

"She was with a white boy after I told her to stay away from him."

I stand up from the couch, "Nothing happened. Why are you making such a big deal about it?"

"I told you to stay away from him and you completely ignored that."

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I don't need you to always keep me close by." It took awhile to realize that my voice was echoing throughout the house.

_Ma_ steps in between the argument,"Okay, that's enough."

Carlos roars over her, "I'm the man of the house. _Mostrarme un poco de respeto._"

"You may be the man of the house but that doesn't make you my father so stop acting like it." Suddenly Carlos's hand is in mid air, but doesn't move any further. I scoff, "You may not be a father but you sure know how to discipline like one."

The house is once again silent. To avoid the awkwardness for much longer I go straight to my room. There was only one other time Carlos raised his hand to me and actually went through with it, but back then I deserved it. Right now, I'm not really sure if it was close to justifiable.


	10. Chapter 10

**Austin**

I haven't been able to keep my mind off Stephanie since the party. I didn't want to text her just in case if Carlos or anyone else was keeping an eye on her phone. At school I stop myself from coming up to her when I see Jorge following her every step of the way. I wait for her in a janitor's closet when she comes by. I grab her arm to drag her into the closet.

"_Dios mío._" She gasps, "Austin, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry I just wanted to be sure that you were okay after what happened."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just an argument but nothing I couldn't handle." She continues to look out the crack of the door. "The only problem right now is Jorge. He's following me everywhere and watching my every move."

"Then we should be more careful with ourselves."

She looks at me with a stun face, "What? You mean you still want to…after seeing the tight leash my brother has me on?"

"To be honest your brother isn't the one that's been on my mind lately."

She smiles, "I have to go before Jorge notices I'm gone from his sight." Before leaving she pecks my mouth with her lips, "I'll see you in Spanish class."

At lunch I'm anxious to go to Spanish class, the only place where I can be in the same room with Stephanie and without Jorge standing by.

"Alright bro, give me some info." Jake says taking the seat next to me.

"What're you talking about?"

"What's going on between you and Stephanie?" He emphasizes his question with the rise of his eyebrows.

I shrug my shoulders, "I went on a date with her. What's the big deal?"

"Dude, Jorge is out for you. What did I tell you about that girl? You didn't listen and now you've gotten yourself into some serious trouble."

I laugh to how much he's overreacting to this as though it was his problem to deal with, "I get it, bro. I should've listened, but I couldn't help myself."

"You're lucky it's just him and not the whole Hispanic group."

"Yeah, I get that can you drop it and talk about something else?"

"Oh come on, not even one little detail about what happened on the date?" I stare at him hoping that he would move on to another subject until he gets the hint. "Alright, I'll drop it…for now."

Finally Spanish class comes around and I get to see Stephanie. She's working hard at Mrs. Nunez's desk shuffling, filing, and grading papers from this class and others. She looks beautiful with her hair straightened; even though, she looks just as stunning with her hair naturally curled. I raise my hand for her help when she finishes which works pretty quickly.

She leans over my desk, "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over my house after school." I say.

"Oh that sounds very tempting."

"It's not what you think." I don't want her to think I'm trying to get her into bed. "My housekeeper wants to meet you."

"Your housekeeper," She says confusingly.

I chuckle, "I may have mentioned you to her. Besides she's like family to me."

She smiles, "Alright, but we have to do something about Jorge. If he finds out he'll got to Carlos then you and me both will be screwed."

I smile back, "As long as it involves you and me together I won't mind it." In all seriousness we do have to be careful. I don't care what happens to me but I don't want to be the cause of Stephanie getting into trouble.

* * *

**Stephanie**

After class is over Austin and I go our separate ways. As expected Jorge is outside the classroom waiting. I see Maria coming out of her class and an idea slaps me upside the head.

I catch up with her before I lose track of her, "Maria, just the person I was looking for. I need a huge favor from my best in the whole world."

"Uh-oh, I'm scared to ask what it is." She murmurs.

"Austin invited me to his house."

"Please tell me you didn't say 'yes'?" My silence was enough to answer her, "I know I've asked this already but are you crazy? Jorge is following you every move and if he sees you going into his house he'll get Carlos, get you out of the house, and burn the house down with Austin in it."

"I know and that where you come in. I need you to cover for me while I'm with Austin."

She scoffs, "Again, are you crazy?"

"Please, Maria. Just this one time, I promise that you won't get into trouble. If we get caught I'll take all the blame." I give her the puppy dog eyes.

"How do you expect to fool Jorge?"

"Tell Jorge and Carlos that I'm hanging out with you at your house and leave the rest to me."

She's arguing with herself on whether or not to do it, "Esta bien, but you owe me one big time for this."

"I know and I love you more than yesterday."

The plan worked as I knew it would. Maria and I drove halfway to her house then we switched cars. I got into Austin's car and Maria drove my car to her house. I told her to leave the keys under the mat for me to get when I come back.

Austin pulls the car up into his driveway. The house looks different in the day and quieter than the last time I was here. I suddenly get a different vibe from the house when I enter its emptiness. Austin leads me into the kitchen where a woman stood at the stove cooking.

Austin approaches her, "Brenda," she turns towards us, "I'd like you to meet Stephanie."

The woman comes towards me with her hands extended, "_Hola es un placer conocerte. Austin habla de ti todo el tiempo._"

"¿En serio?" I wonder how much Austin as talked about me with Brenda.

Austin turns red, "I heard my name what are you two talking about?" Brenda and I don't answer, we just laugh.

Brenda smiles looking at Austin and me, "Well I'm going to get back to the house work. If you two need anything let me know."

After meeting Brenda Austin showed me around the house. The last time I was here I didn't get to focus much on the details of the house due to the fact that people were staring at me. Once I walked into his bedroom it overwhelmed me the view from his balcony window. His room really showed his personality. I look over at his drawer of pictures and see him and his dad, Brenda, and one woman that I'd never seen around before. Austin looks about five years old and happy in the woman's arms.

I pointed at the framed photo, "Who's this?" I ask.

He stares at the photo for a few seconds before answering, "It's my mom, my real mom." That explains the difference between Austin and his step-mom's appearances.

I try and change the subject, "So you kick-boxing?" I ask seeing a few medals hanging on the wall.

"I did for five years then eventually I thought it was time to retire." He says playfully.

"So you know all the moves huh?" I raise my fists humorously as he nods with a smirk. "How good are you?" I take a swing at his shoulder, but in a blink of an eye he grabs my wrist and pulls me towards him.

"I guess you can say I have cat-like reflects." He whispers to me.

My eyes suddenly make their way from his eyes to his mouth. My knees begin to shake causing me to inadvertently lean closer to him to a point where our mouths touch. I begin to feel his arm wrap around my back and his other hand roaming through my hair. I begin to feel a rush when I hear a moan escape his lips. A gasp escapes my mouth when I'm suddenly lifted from the ground. My legs are suddenly wrapped around his waist as we begin to move, but I'm too distracted to wonder where we're moving to. I realize that he was moving me to his bed. He laid me down on his bed then I feel the heat of his body fall on top of mine with my legs still wrapped around his waist. The warmth of his lips embarks on their own journey along my jaw line to my neck then slowly reaching my collarbone. My hands swarmed his hair as my heart pumped harder and faster by the minute.

_Knock, Knock,_

I hear the doorknob rattle, "Austin, are you home?" A voice came from the other side of his door.

Austin and I jump from the bed in an attempt to look like we weren't doing anything wrong. I stood in front of Austin's trophies trying to act as if I was interested in them again.

Austin opened the door to his stepmom, "Obviously I'm home, Sarah." She walks pass Austin then stops once she sees me.

"Oh, you have company that I was unaware of." She says sarcastically looking back to her stepson.

He scoffs, "I'm old enough to have friends over without your permission so if you don't mind…" he points towards the open door.

"Alright well try wrapping it up," she scans me up and down in a face of disgust then walks out the door.

We stand in a moment of silence from the awkwardness of the moment. I keep my eyes on my shoes feeling somewhat embarrassed that we were almost caught by a woman who already sees me as a threat.

I'm snapped out of my train of thought when a pair of warm hands grabs a hold of mine, "Hey, are you okay?" I don't answer then he places his forehead against mine, "Listen don't worry about it. She doesn't she what I see in you." A smile comes across my face as he kisses my cheek, "Now where were we?" He says in a flirtatious tone.

"I think I remember," I wrap my arms around his neck pulling him into me until by phone begins to ring. We both sigh in aggravation.

Not moving from my position I reach into my back pocket for my cell phone, "Hello?"

"Hey, where are you?" There's a rush of worry in her voice that scares me.

I look up to see a set of hazel eyes still watching me, "I'm with Austin, what's up?"

"Look, I don't mean to rush you or anything but Jorge has been driving around the block like every twenty minutes." I shut my eyes in distress knowing that all this has to end or else I'll be in more trouble than it is.

I sigh, "Alright, just keep me informed." I put my phone in my pocket and lean into Austin's embrace, "I hate to say it but we have to go."

He nods, "Okay," I can feel the disappointment in his voice.

"Maybe next time we can try again." I say hoping to bring his smile back.

I managed to get back to Maria's house without being spotted by Jorge. Austin dropped me off a few blocks away from her house. I snuck through the back gate that Maria left open for me to get in easily. I knocked on the back door and Maria opens the door then immediately pulls him in out of sight.

"Thank god you made it back. I was getting scared that Jorge was going to come knocking at the door to get you."

"I doubt it but thank you for covering for me."

"Look Steph I can't keep doing this?"

I turn to look at the seriousness on her face, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying…I can't stand by and watch you lie to everyone who cares about you. I mean I love you like a sister Steph, but you are risking so much right now." Her eyes turn glassy, "Is he really worth what you're doing right now."

"Yeah, he is." I take my keys from the counter and leave her house ending on that notes. I may have just lost my best friend but it's better to have her uninvolved then make her worry so much.

I sit in the car staring at my house for about thirty minutes until finally going inside to find it once again quite. Mom must be working a double shift again tonight but I'm more curious as to where Carlos is and if Jorge has talked to him yet. I get to the top of the stairs when I see him leaning against frame of his door looking at me.

"I'm not in the mood right now Carlos so please let me go to bed in peace."

"I don't want to argue with you. I just want to apologize to you. I shouldn't have raised my hand to you and you're right I'm not dad, but I am your brother and the man of the house so my job is to take care of you and mom. Especially you, after what happened I've been blaming myself ever since."

"Carlos it wasn't you fault and I don't blame you but all I ask is for you to trust me. When I mean trust I mean loosen the leash."

A hug came out of the conversation then I felt more closely to my brother than ever, "Alright, go to sleep then."


	11. Chapter 11

**Austin**

After dropping off Stephanie from her house I was able to get back to my room without any confrontation from Sarah. I lie in bed thinking about the moment Stephanie and I shared today. It felt like nothing else in the world matter but being with her and being close to her. Her body pressing up against me felt like she was a part of me and I never want to let her go.

At school we continued to keep our distance which is torturing thing to do. Stephanie left a note in my locker with an address on it and it said to meet her there. I spent the entire day watching the clock and waiting the day to be over. When Spanish class came around I was able to not look at the clock and glance over at Stephanie grading papers for Mrs. Nunez. She's wearing a see through button up shirt with a tank top underneath it giving her the appearance of a teacher. When class ended I casually walked out of the class room and passed Stephanie. I head to the exit but I get hold up by Megan.

"Hey Austin, do you have a minute?" She says shining her pearly white teeth.

"Sure Megan, but can you make it quick I got to get home."

"Well the volleyball team has a game tomorrow night and if we win our team makes it in the championship finals so I was hoping you would be there to support the team including me."

"Yeah of course I'll be there." Stephanie's a part of the volleyball team maybe I can surprise her by showing up.

"Great, I'll see you there tomorrow."

I head outside to my car and drove out of the parking lot. In my rear view mirror I see Stephanie's car following behind me. After parking our cars Stephanie immediately drags me through a wide alleyway filled with stands and stores.

"Where are we?" I ask trying not to resist.

"This whole row is filled with stores where nearly everything is handmade. Maria and our family are the only ones who actually come here to buy things."

"Interesting, what kind of stuff do they make?"

"Typical stuff like jewelry, plates, bowls, furniture, paintings and they're not that bad for handmade. It's been around since before I was born." She suddenly stops, "Come on," she says grabbing a hold of my wrist.

She leads me into a store that looks like it could've been a library once, but instead of book there are different types of antique items.

"¿Quién está ahí?" An elderly man comes through a curtained doorway.

"Soy yo Stephanie." She says with a smile on her face. They talk to each other in Spanish for a few minutes then she turns to me, "Este es mi amigo Austin." The elderly man takes my hand to shake it, "This is Don Pedro he lets me work here during the summer." They say a few more things in Spanish before Pedro slowly walks back through the curtain. Stephanie turns back to me, "So feel free to look around."

A few minutes of silence go by as I stroll through the store and see a lot of well made items. I catch up with Stephanie after a spin around the store and she breaks the silence between us, "So tell me about your mom."

"You want to know about Sarah?"

"No, I mean your real mom." I could feel the hesitation in her voice like she was afraid to ask.

I nod my head, "She left me and my dad when I was eight years old. She just took off with another man and didn't even say goodbye or try to work things out with my dad." I take a breath before continuing, "I tracked her down when I was fifteen years old. When I found her she was already remarried and had kids. I just wanted her in my life, but all she said to me was that she wasn't my mother and that she had a new family."

Stephanie steps towards me and puts a hand on my cheek, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get in your business."

"No, it's okay. I trust you enough to know these things." I pull her in to hug her but it's cut short when Pedro came back through the curtains. He sets a tray of jewelry on the counter and says something to Stephanie then walks to the other end of the counter.

Stephanie laughs and turns to me, "He says take something for gift to someone."

I can already tell where Pedro is going with this. I look at the tray and immediately grab a necklace. It has a cross pendant with blue and white stones forming the T formation and a heart wrapped around the middle. I unclip the necklace and wrap it around Stephanie's neck.

"Austin, you don't have to-"

"I don't want to hear it, this gift is for you."

She smiles then reaches passed her necklace and pulls a beaded necklace over her head and places it around my neck. "Then here's my gift to you. It's a Rosario, to protect you."

Stephanie and I spent the rest of the day looking around. It took us awhile to finally say goodbye but when we did it was already dark out. I don't bother sneaking in since dad and Sarah are going to be late coming home. I head into the kitchen where Brenda is cleaning up.

"Hey Brenda, how are you?" I ask taking a bottle of water out of the fridge and take a seat at the counter.

"I'm good, where have you been?"

"I was out with Stephanie." I can help but smile at the thought.

"Again, you must really like this girl."

I take a breath, "I do, and she's amazing." I start playing with the Rosario that Stephanie gave me. I look at Brenda's face and notice that she seems like she wants to say something, "What's wrong, Brenda?"

"I can't be sure but I think something happened to that girl. I can see pain in her eyes from something that's been with her for long time. I think you should be careful. Painful things tend to come back to haunt people."

I thank Brenda for the advice but I already know about her painful time during sophomore year and I will be there for her if that pain comes back.

* * *

**Stephanie**

Today is game day and an important day for our team. It's the semi-finals and if we win tonight's game then we are in the finals for the championship. I put on my kneepads when coach comes out of her office to make a last minute speech to the team.

"Alright girls, we've made it this far and I don't intend have that end tonight. You girls fight hard even with your difference between all of you, you manage to overcome it for the sake of the team. Now let's follow our team captain out to victory."

I finish tying my shoes and lead the way out of the locker room into the school gym. I reach the benches when I look at the home side of the bleachers then spot Carlos with Alex sitting beside Maria along with the rest of my friends, cheering their hearts out as usual. I look over at the next section of bleachers to see Austin sitting next to Jake and the rest of them. I send him a smile to see if he notices me and he returns with a smile of his own. The team lines up then we make our way pass the net to shake hands with the opposing team and then we do warm ups.\

The game goes on for a long time. We've tied up twice but now we're ahead with a score of thirteen to eleven.

"We're up two points but that doesn't mean we take it easy on them remember these girls play their hardest when they're near losing. So go out there and dominate to victory. Let's go!"At the sideline coach is telling us what tour next move is and sends us back out.

The team stands in formation with it being my turn to serve the ball. I spike the ball over the net. The opposite team manages to bring it back over but Megan spikes the ball down hard giving us another point. We need one more point to win this whole thing and move forward. I spike the ball with force and get it over the net. The opposite team hit it twice then a red head player jumps to slam it down towards me. I try to hit it up to another teammate but the ball smashes right to my face and at the bone of my cheek. I touch it and feel it begin to bruise. I look out into the audience as see a lot of worried faces especially from Austin.

"Steph, are you okay?" Coach shouts from the sidelines. I nod my head and wave her off so she won't take me out of the game. We're so close to winning that I can't sit on the bench and watch our team go to victory without me.

"Is that all you got?" I call out the red head that hit me.

She shrugs her shoulders, "Let's find out."

I back up into formation and wait for the opposing team serves the ball. When the ball comes to our side, Megan and I manage to fake a serve throwing them off our game but they block the ball back over on our side then we manage to save the ball from hitting the floor. I watch the ball get hit back over to our side but when Megan hit the ball up to pass it over to another teammate she accidently hits near out of bounce and I quickly run to the sideline to hit it over the net. The ball comes back over and I realize that I had left a hole in the formation giving the other team a point.

I walk back to my spot, "Nice going." Megan says sarcastically.

"Well maybe if you keep the ball in bounce I wouldn't have to leave the formation." She says something else but I ignore her and stand in my spot.

The ball bounces back and forth numerous times. Megan pushes me aside to spike the ball over the net but I manage to get back up and spike the upcoming ball straight down on the white line of the court giving us the win. I always love winning because the team is always so emotional over the win they forget to shun me from it. As we're celebrating the entire side of the home jump off the bleachers to celebrate with us. Carlos and the rest of my friends come to give me a congratulatory hug for the win.

I feel a tap on my shoulder then I turn to see Jorge, "Congrats Steph," he wraps his arms around me, "you worked hard for it."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it Jorge."

I put on my sweatshirt and head out with the group. I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. It's a text message from Austin:

**Congrats, wish I could say it to in person.**

I look back inside the gym and see Austin watching me. I smile and text back:

**Maybe u can ****J****meet me in the back of the school.**

I look at him check his phone then a smile comes across his face and he nods.

"Oh crap, I forgot my gym bag in the locker room. I'll be right back let me go get it."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Carlos asks.

I shake my head, "_No, __está bien._It'll be quick just give me a minute."

"_Bueno_, hurry up then."

I jog into the girl's locker room. Luckily, no one is in here. I pull up my hood and head to the other door that leads to the other side of the gym where the back exit is. I look around and spot Austin waiting at the far end of the school, opposite the parking lot, where not many people are walking by. I casually walk over to Austin until I'm just a few feet from him I begin to jog. I run into his arms and instantly feel his lips on top of mine.

"Congratulations on making it to the finals." He whispers in my ear.

"That's seriously the last thing on my mind right now." I say in between each kiss.

My heart suddenly stops and horror of chill rushes over me when I hear a familiar voice, "Hey Austin, party at my house come on."

Austin walks pass me to cover me out of view, "Yeah man, I'll meet you there."

My hands begin to shake when I feel his eyes on me, "Oh, you getting with one of the member of the volleyball team."

I speed walk to get around the corner and out of sight but I run into Jake, "Sorry Stephanie I didn't see you there."

"What, Stephanie?"

The only thing keeping me from showing my face was my hood, but I don't have anywhere else to hide. I slowly turn my head to see Derek once again after so many years.

He laughs, "Well long time no see." He scans me up and down, "Wow, puberty has done wonders for you." He starts to step towards me, but I take a couple steps back. I look at Austin who is confused at what's going on. "So tell me how's Carlos doing?"

"Get the hell away from her!" I hear Carlos coming up behind me from around the corner. Without even thinking I wrap my arms around Jorge's waist as he was coming up beside me.

"Whoa Carlos, take it easy. Is this any way to say hi to an old friend?" He says sarcastically.

"You stay the hell away from my sister." Carlos looks over at Austin, "I already warned your friend here about…" he suddenly stops in midsentence which worries me.

Derek grabs his attention again, "Come on man, share your little sister…just like you did for me."

Carlos's fists tighten up, but I grab his shoulder. He looks at me and without speaking he knows what I'm saying. I don't want them to go at each other again. He takes my hand off his shoulder and leads me away from the group. I look back at Austin who looks either confused or worried maybe even both about the whole situation. What will he think about now?

"You know what you did and as God as my witness you'll get yours soon enough." I hear Jorge say before he starts walking behind us.

I hear Derek laugh loudly, "You should watch yourself Jorgie would hate for something to happen to you."

The ride home was nothing but awkward silence. Jorge drove Maria and everyone else home. Carlos never looked at me the whole ride but I know he's angry; his knuckles are turning white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. I don't know if he's angry with me or with Austin or the fact that he had an unpleasant reunion with Derek. Once we reach home I knew that I will be in store for something loud. I walk into the house first but as soon as the door closes behind Carlos he begins his ranting.

"What did I tell you about that _cabrón_? I told you to stay away from him. What's wrong with you?"

"I have stayed away from him."

"Don't lie to me. I know that's bullshit." He's bluffing he can't possibly know anything.

I shake my head continuing to deny it, "You don't know what you're talking about."

He scoff, "Oh no, then why was he wearing your Rosario. I saw it around his neck." That must be why he stopped in midsentence when he looked at Austin, "You've been lying to me from the very beginning and you've been with that white boy."

"You want to know the truth, Carlos?" I don't think he'll understand the truth but he has to know now.

"All I ask for is the truth from you from the beginning." He shouts.

"I love him okay I want to be with him and I don't care if he's white." I shouted my feeling to him everything I never told him he now knows.

He keeps shaking his head as if what I'm telling him is a lie, "You're young you don't know what you feel." I tried to explain but he cuts me off, "Just go to your room and stay there. I don't want to talk about it tonight especially after what just happened. Go!" He points towards the stairs.

I decide to call it a night and not attempt to argue with him now. I can't help but cry after what happened. What if Austin finds out the truth? I don't want him to know this way.


	12. Chapter 12

**Austin**

I'm at a complete loss for what just happened. Jake drives me home after an intense situation back at school. The whole ride back Jake kept questioning me about my relationship with Stephanie, but I kept my silence. As soon as he stops the car I jump out the car and make my way to the front door.

"Austin, wait a second." Jake reaches me and turns me around by the shoulder. "Just tell me what's been going on?"

"What is there to know? Stephanie and I have been spending time together."

He scoffs at me, "Dude, you really don't want to do that."

"Why, give me a reason."

Jake paces back and before speaking again, "Four years ago, Stephanie made allegations against Derek that went too far. She was like obsessed with him."

"What kind of allegations?"

"She said that he sexually harassed her or something like that."

"Well…did he?" Why didn't Stephanie mention this to me?

He shakes his head, "Dude, she did it to get some money out of him."

"Whoa, whoa, how do you know that?"

"When he gave her twenty thousand dollars to drop the case…she did. I know it's hard to hear but I don't want you to have to deal with that crap too."

I wave him off, "I don't believe that." I don't bother to talk about it anymore.

I go straight upstairs to my room without talking to anyone and collapse on the bed. What is Stephanie not telling me? I shared with her the secret about my mom the least she could do was tell me her secrets. Whatever the truth is I want to hear it from her and no one else.

By morning I start making my way to the front door to get to my car and see Stephanie. Brenda knocks on my door right as I'm about to open it.

"_Lo siento pero, _there's a boy here to see you and he says it's very important."

"Alright, thank you." I head down the stairs thinking who it could be. It could probably be Jake trying to convince me Stephanie isn't who she says she is.

I open the door the front door expecting Jake but instead I see Carlos leaning against my car.

"Sweet ride," he says getting off the hood. "Sadly, it's not my vehicle of choice." He says with a smirk.

"What can I do for you Carlos?" I'm not scared of him and I won't let him think I am.

"Look bro, I'm not here to start any trouble. I came here to tell you nicely and face-to-face to leave Stephanie alone." I scoff wonder if actually thought that was going to work, "You seem like a nice dude, but my sister has been through too much in her life to be dragged down by you or your friends."

"I don't know what happened to her but I would never hurt her."

He thinks for a moment then nods his head, "I'm sure you wouldn't but your friends I don't think they're feel the same way about that. In all honesty, if you really care about her you'll back up and leave her be. She obviously won't stay away from you if I ask her so I'm hoping you will make the right choice and let her go. Please, she can't go through this like last time and I can't watch her lose it all over again."

After Carlos left I went back upstairs into my room to think about what he said. He seriously believes that I'm a threat to Stephanie's well-being and it must be true because he wouldn't have pleaded the way he did to get me away from her. Carlos knows her situation better and he understand what Stephanie went through so how can I ignore that? Obviously he sees something horribly happening to Stephanie if she stays with me.

My phone rings and its Stephanie calling. I press the red end button to ignore the call. I feel a tight pressure in my chest, a feeling of guilt. It's going to be hard but I have to do it for her.

* * *

**Stephanie**

I haven't been able to speak to Austin since the game and he's not returning my phone calls or text messages. I want to tell him everything myself but I don't know if he'll give me the chance. I was planning on telling him everything when the time was right but I guess I took too long. Every since the game on Friday Maria has been checking in on me about the whole incident.

"So what did Carlos say when you got home?"

"The usual ranting about what's going to happen if I keep seeing Austin." I can still hear him yelling at me in my head. "Plus, he disappeared early in the morning on Saturday. Did you hear anything from Alex or Jorge?"

"Nope, I don't think they were with him Saturday morning."

"He must've gone to the auto shop to get his mind off of Friday. I'm just worried that…" I drift in midsentence when Maria and I are suddenly surrounded by Megan and three other girls. "Look, Megan I'm not really in the mood for this right now so can you just say your joke and walk off." Her silence gives me an idea that she doesn't want to talk. I stand in front of Maria, "Maria, _sal de aquí_."

"_¿Estás locoyo novoy a ningún lado?_"

"Go, now." I say firmly keeping my eyes on Megan and her friends. Hesitantly Maria runs out of sight leaving me alone.

"I saw you with Austin on Friday after the game. You steal my victory now you're stealing my man." She pushes me back a few steps.

"You guys don't have to do this, just walk away and forget about it."

"I don't think so." She throws the first punch then her friends begin to join in the attack. I tackle Megan down by the waist to the ground. Another blonde haired girl wraps her arms around me to retrain my arms, but I manage to hit her with a head butt from behind. I hit the other two girls with a punch. Megan pushes me down and kicks me in the abdomen. I grab her foot and drag her down to the ground. I manage to take over the punches until I feel someone put their hands on my arms and pull me off of her. I look up to see the principal and coach standing over us. Now I'm screwed.

I sit outside waiting for the principal to be done talking with Megan. I can hear Liz typing on her computer, but I don't have the heart to look at her. Being sent to the principal's office was always Carlos's thing, not mine.

"Stephanie," Principal Mores signals for me to come in to his office. Before I enter the room Megan walks passed me with a grin on her face. I sit in the chair across from Principal Mores desk as Coach leaned against the corner of it.

Principal Mores closes the door and sits in his chair, "This is very unusual to see you in my office Stephanie. I always expected your brother here but this is a surprise." I want to put my head down but I keep it up, "I've spoken to Megan and the other girls who were involved in the fight…" he drifts off in the middle of the sentence.

Coach continues his sentence, "They all say that you started the fight."

"That's not true. They jumped me," They're faces looked uncertain. "Ask Maria, she was there."

"She saw Megan and her friends come towards you two but she didn't see who started the fight." I told her to leave for her own safety, how was I supposed to know that Megan would use her friends as witnesses against me.

"You can't honestly believe that I started the fight." They both stayed silent and that's when I knew I should just take the punishment, "So what now?" I ask shrugging my shoulders.

Again, another silence then Coach sighs, "I'm sorry Stephanie, but I have no choice but to kick you off the team." The hurt in her voice showed that she didn't want to go through with the threat.

"You can't kick me off the team, what about the championship? I've worked hard this whole season to prepare for that." I hold back the tears I want to let out but I have to be strong about it.

"I'm sorry, but we will have to go on without you and Megan will take your spot as the team captain."

I don't bother arguing because she's already made up her mind and Principal Mores has already agreed with it. I storm out of the office with tears nearly coming out of corner of my eyes.

Maria was waiting for me outside, "Girl, what happened?"

"I'm off the volleyball team because of that _perra_."

She sighs, "You know what, who cares at least you won't have to deal with that _gringa_ anyways."

"You don't get it; I'm going to lose my scholarship now that I'm off the team." I walk off before I release any tears.

"Where are you going?"

"I just need to be alone." I make my way to the parking lot when I see Austin waiting by his car. I manage a smile and walk over to him. "Hey," I say in a hush tone voice.

"We need to talk," My heart starts to race.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" I feel like now's the time to tell him the truth. "If it's about Friday I…"

He interrupts me, "We need to stop seeing each other." My heart halts in my chest.

"What are you talking about?"

"You and me, this whole hiding and sneaking around thing…we can't keep doing it."

Finally the tears escape my eyes and stream down my cheek, "So that's it? You're just going to call it quits." I begin to raise my voice and shove him against his car. "I love you." I whispered through my tears.

He continues to look down, "Well…I don't." Without saying another word he gets into his car and drives out of the parking lot.

It feels like a tight knot is tied around my heart and it's attached to an anchor sinking down into my stomach. I run my hands through my head as the tears continued to come down my cheeks. Did Derek get to him and tell him his version of the truth? I honestly doubt that our truths would match up. He doesn't want to see me so I might as well forget about him. I hate him.

I'm suddenly interrupted by Maria, "Steph, Jorge is in the hospital."

"What happened? Is he okay?"

"I don't know Alex called me, he there now with Carlos. So we have to go now."

As soon as we entered the hospital I lost my breath imagining Jorge being hurt to the worse. I see the sign that says morgue and begin to panic as Maria asks the receptionist where Jorge is. We get into the elevator and as soon as the doors open I see Carlos and Alex standing in the hallway.

"Carlos," I run to give him a hug. With the day I've been having I could use some comfort right now. "Where's Jorge is he okay?"

"I don't know we're waiting for the doctor to come back out of the room."

"Excuse me," A man in a suit approaches us, "I'm Detective Andrews are you all friends of the victim?"

"His name is Jorge." Carlos says feeling offend.

"Carlos, please," I grab his arm to calm him. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"Well from eyewitness accounts that your friend was hit by a car." A gasp involuntarily comes out of my mouth.

"Who did this to him?" Alex asks.

"No one saw the driver but it seems it was premeditated. There were skid marks on the road showing that the perpetrator sped up on sight of Jorge crossing the streets. Obviously someone was watching and waiting for him to be alone." There was a silence then he spoke again. "Do you have any idea who would want to hurt your friend? Does he have any enemies that you know of?"

We all look at each other wondering whether or not to tell the detective or take care of it ourselves. The last time we tried that it didn't work out so well for us.

"You might want to check out Derek Chambers. Other than him I can't think of anybody else."

"We'll check him out in the mean time stay away from him." You don't have to tell me twice.

A few minutes after Detective Andrews left, the doctor comes out with a clipboard in hand from Jorge's room. We all jump up from the seats to the sight of him coming out to give us some sort of information.

"Doctor, how's he doing?" Alex asks.

"He has a few scrapes and bruises along with a broken leg, but he'll make a good recovery." I release a breath that I've been holding in ever since I got here, "He's lucky to be alive."

"Can we see him?" I ask.

"Yes, but only one of you. He continued to ask for someone named Stephanie." The doctor placed a folder in the slot next to the door and left down the hall.

I feel a nudge on my shoulder, "Go on, and tell him we said hi." Carlos smiles down on me.

I walk through the door and once again lose my breath at the sight of Jorge in a hospital bed. His face scratched up and bruised with his arm in a sling and his foot him a cast. I take baby steps to his bedside and grab a chair to take a seat. I take his hand that's not in the sling and I feel him squeeze it.

"Steph," he says under his breath.

"Hey Jorgie, I'm here. Carlos, Alex, and Maria are right outside wishing you a speedy recovery." I tighten my grip on his hand so he knows it's me.

He chuckled, "You haven't called me Jorgie since we were kids." I smile at the thought of us kids with no troubles or worries.

"Do you remember who hit you?"

"It was Derek, I saw his face."

I let more tears fall down to my cheeks, "Jorge, I'm so sorry this happened."

"Hey, this wasn't your fault. You know how big of a mouth I have and how it gets me into trouble."

"Derek did this to you to get back at me so it is my fault. He would do anything to keep what happened between us hidden. I mean he could've killed you and gotten away with it." I begin to mumble the last words through tears.

"Come here," Jorge pulls me out of the seat and into his arms. I bury my head and tears into his neck as she tries to calm me down. "Look at me," I look into his brown eyes, "I won't let him hurt you again." I look down at his leg and wonder how much more hurt he can deal with now. He suddenly puts his hand on my chin and pulls my attention back to his face. His eyes look down to my lips and he leans forward to get closer to me. Just inches away our lips nearly touch but I turn my head still thinking of Austin even though he broke it off with me I can't do this with Jorge.

I wipe away by dried tears and clear my throat as the doctor returned, "I'm sorry but visiting hours are over and your friend needs his rest."

I get out of his grasp and walk out of the room. I didn't want to leave like that but I couldn't explain to him why I couldn't kiss him.

Carlos and I finally get home after a very stressful day especially for me and I still have to tell _Ma_ and Carlos about the fight and getting kicked off the team, but I can always do that tomorrow after I get some sleep. We get inside the house and I'm surprised to see _Ma_ sitting on the couch with a sad look on her face. Did she already know about Jorge?

"_Ma, _are you okay?"

"No _hija, _I got a call from the principal from your school," Crap, I guess this conversation with have to happen now. "You got into a fight and now you're not allowed to play volleyball anymore."

Carlos jumps into the conversation, "You what?"

"It wasn't my fault. Megan and her friends jumped me and because it was them against me they took their word over mine." The room is silent.

Carlos begins to shake his head, "Alright _no más_, we are leaving and going back to Mexico again."

"No, you can't do that to me. I'm fine; there is nothing wrong with me. _Ma,_ please don't make me leave."

She sighs, "_Mija,_ I don't like what's been going on with you lately. As much as it pains me to say it but your brother's right. You need to get away from the bad that's been getting to you."

I can't believe this is happening to me, "But what about school, I'm a senior I want to graduate."

"You'll just have to do some online classes to get your GED and maybe when you're ready we can come back for you to start college."

"But _Ma_…"

"No more buts we're going and that's that. _Sin excusas o protestas_. Now go to your room and start packing."

I run upstairs and slam my door shut. I collapse on the floor crying. I've lost everything today. The one person I want to be with right now is Austin but he doesn't want me. He probably never did he just wanted to get me in bed he just like all the other white boys. I knew I should've listened to Maria. Why am I so stupid? How could I fall for that crap? I just want to run away and never look back at all the pain that I've experience and the pain that I caused others. I just want to disappear.


	13. Chapter 13

**Austin**

Ever since I broke things off with Stephanie I've been hating myself and I'm pretty sure she hates me too. I don't blame her one bit. I didn't want to hurt her that way but it was the only way to make sure she would never want to be with me again. I feel such guilt hovering over me everywhere I go. I don't think it will ever go away for as long as I'm near her.

I hear the doorbell ring downstairs and then a few minutes later I hear a knock on my door. I slowly get out of bed and open my door to Brenda.

"Austin, there's someone here to see you."

I run down the stairs to disappointment when I see a man in a suit sitting in the living room. He has a police badge hanging around his neck.

Dad breaks the silence that begins as soon as I walk in, "Austin, this is Detective Andrews he has a few questions for you."

"Austin, can you tell me you're whereabouts this afternoon?"

"What is this about?" Sarah asks.

"A boy, Jorge, was hit by a car earlier today and we have reason to believe that it was premeditated."

"Is he alright?"

"He's in the hospital and luckily alive."

"Well you can't obviously believe my son had anything to do with it."

"It's just a precaution. We spoke to Derek and he mentioned an encounter with Jorge and a couple of his friends after a game on Friday night. He said that you were there."

"Yeah, but I never spoke to him during the whole confrontation."

"Can you tell me where you were earlier today?"

"I was here at home." After breaking up with Stephanie I drove immediately home and up to my room.

"Can anyone verify that?"

"I can, I saw him come through the front door I yelled at him for slamming the door and then he went straight upstairs to his room." Luckily Sarah was home today.

"Alright, we'll be in touch if I have anymore question for you."

As soon as the Detective left I couldn't stop thinking about Stephanie. How she must be feeling especially after what I did to her. I have to take back what I said. I can't continue feeling this guilt growing deep in my chest.

I sit in my desk waiting for Stephanie to walk through the door so I could talk to her before class but she came through the door. I'm worried about her, somebody attacked Jorge and I'm scared they might go after Stephanie next. As soon as class ends I go to Stephanie's locker but she doesn't show. I lose hope until I saw Maria.

I catch up with her, "Maria, can I talk to you for a second?" She scoffs then walks off. I grab her by the arm, "Maria please, where's Stephanie?"

"Why do you care especially after what you did to her?" She tries to walk out of my grip but I refuse to let go.

"Look, I know what I did was wrong but if someone is after her I need to find her please."

She shoves my shoulder and I let go of her, "Yeah well you weren't there to protect her when that _perra_ and her friends jumped her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Megan and her friends attacked Stephanie and because her friends were the only witnesses she got kicked off the volleyball team and the white girl took her spot." If I wasn't busy being stupid I would've know or been there for her. "When her mom and Carlos found out they were furious. Now they're taking her back to Mexico."

I process everything slowly but I eventually do, "For how long?"

She inhales and shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know. Last time she left it was just for the summer, but that's if we're lucky."

"When are they leaving?"

"First thing tomorrow morning," Her eyes get glassy knowing that she's about to lose her best friend all again, but this time she might not come back.

I drive up to Stephanie's house in the Mustang to be sure that if Carlos was around he wouldn't recognize me with the Audi. I see lights on in the house then I see Stephanie's window partially opened and her silhouette walking around her room. I park the car around the corner and walk back to her house. I jump over the fence to sneak around the backyard. I climb a nearby tree and manage to reach for her balcony. I look through the open window and saw her packing her bags alone. She freezes when she sees me coming through the window.

"Hey," I say the first thing that comes to mind.

Tears begin to build in her eyes, "Get out," she whispers.

"Steph please, let me explain."

"Don't make me call Carlos. Just leave me alone." She turns to get to the door but I cut her off by putting trapping her against the door with my arms on both sides of her head.

She pushes my chest but I don't move, "Listen to me, I love you." she scoffs, "Your brother told me that if you stayed with me that you would get hurt and I didn't want that to happen to you. I tried to make sure you wouldn't speak to me but after what happened to Jorge I got scared that you were going to get hurt too then Maria told me what happened with Megan and I should've been there for you instead of breaking it off with you. She told me you were leaving and that you might not come back and I can't lose you forever. I know I've been an ass and…"

She cuts me off with her lips then wraps her arms around my waist tightly. I move my hands through her soft wavy hair and pull her close. Our foreheads touch as I look into her green eyes filled with sadness.

She speaks through her sobs, "I don't want to leave, but there's nothing I can do about it. My mom and Carlos have already made up their minds."

"Then let's leave. You and me, we'll go anywhere you want."

Without hesitation Stephanie grabbed her luggage and we snuck out of her house through the window. We sneaked out of the backyard and jogged to where I parked my car. She tosses her baggage in the trunk next to mine and we drive out of the neighborhood.

* * *

**Stephanie**

Austin and I left California. I feel somewhat guilty but at the same time I'm glad I did it. We've been driving all night and just before the sun rises we stop at a motel for a break especially for Austin whose been driving the entire time. In a few hours Carlos should be finding out that I'm gone, if he hasn't already, to get me to Mexico.

The room is small but decent looking. Everything is small like the table and the TV, but it doesn't bother me so much. The bed is big enough for two which is all they had left. I put my bag on the table and sat next to Austin on the bed. Our finger entwined with each other as I rest my head on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asks putting his cheek on top of my head.

I chuckle, "You don't know how long I've wanted to get away from all the stress." I stand face him, "Right now you're giving me the chance to forget about what's going on back home and being with you makes me feel like nothing's wrong."

He opens his mouth to speak but I stop him with my lips. I take a step closer and look into his hazel eyes. I take his hands and put them on my shoulder underneath my jacket where he pushes it down my arms and drop to the floor leaving only my black crop top. Somehow our bodies come together as we land on the bed as we continued to kiss. My hands reach the bottom on his shirt as I pull it over his head, revealing his entire torso, and toss it to the side. With a single thrust he rolls over on top of me. His hands combs throw my hair as mine venture his back then his abdomen. I tug on his bottom lip as he moans then reaches down my back for the zipper on the top. My hands slide down to the zipper of his jeans.

I awaken to the sun coming through the curtains. I stretch my arm off of Austin's shoulder. There's tug on my back, when I raise my head from Austin's chest I notice that he's awake now.

I smile at him as she stretches as well, "Hi," I whisper.

"Hi," He kisses me on the forehead, "What time is it?" He looks at his watch, "Wow, it's eleven A.M."

"I guess we pulled an all nighters." I say chuckling. Carlos is probably already worried out of his mind looking for me but right now I don't want to worry about it.

"So what do you think your brother would say if he found you?"

"Well he would probably start off saying that he's disappointed in me and that this isn't like me and that I'm reliving my sophomore year. There are a lot of things he would end up saying to me once he got me home."

"So was your sophomore year going through a phase or what?"

I roll over to my lay on my stomach, "Oh you don't want to hear that story." I know I told myself that I was going to tell Austin everything but I don't want to ruin the moment we're having right now.

"Okay, then what's the story between Carlos and Derek."

"Yeah, you don't want to hear that story either." I don't know if I can go through with telling him.

Austin rolls to his side to face me with his elbow propped up for support, "Why don't you want to tell me?"

"It's just they're really sore subject to talk about."

"So was the story about my real mom." He's right, he told me the personal story about his mom because he was ashamed of it.

I sigh and prepare for the hard story I'm about to tell, "I remember when I was a freshman I was excited to be in high school. The one thing people were excited for was the parties especially Derek's parties because of how big his house was. One day I was invited to one of Derek's parties and I thought it was so cool because he was a senior and being a freshman then to being invited to his parties was an acceptance with the cool kids. When I got to his party it was filled with kids from our school, mostly juniors and seniors, I was the only freshman there. Maria couldn't go that night because she had to babysit her cousins, I went alone. At first, I was having fun, but all of a sudden I got dizzy and disoriented then I blacked out. The next thing I knew I was in Derek's bed…naked." Austin was completely silent so I continued, "I got home and cried until morning."

"Didn't you tell your mom or Carlos?"

I shook my head, "No, I couldn't. I was scared. I thought I could just forget about it but when I got to school people kept looking at me and Derek's friends would laugh at me. He'd threatened me if I told anyone. Nearly a month passed until I finally told my family what happened. Carlos called the cops and then the trial started. It was the most agonizing summer of my life."

"Jake, told me that Derek paid you to drop the charges."

"Of course he said that. All of Derek's friends say that's how it ended."

"Then tell me."

"Yes, he did offer us twenty thousand dollars to drop the case…but we never took his money. Our lawyer advised us to drop the case or suffer more if the jury decided no contest for lack of evidence." I scoff then continue, "They even had the nerve to say that I was drunk and that I wanted it because people like me like to party. Carlos took it the hardest and he blames himself for it."

"It's not his fault it's Derek's."

I sat up, "You don't understand, Carlos and Derek used to be best friends. Carlos trusted him with me and he stabbed him in the back by doing what he did to me. Then when sophomore year started flashbacks of that night kept coming through my mind then I stopped caring. Once it got to the point that Carlos and my mom found me in a police station then he took me out of school and I was gone the whole summer. I needed it because I was able to cope with the whole thing, but deep down its still there now Derek is trying to hurt me again. Only this time he's going for the people around me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Derek was the one who ran over Jorgie because he brought it up. Anyone who brings it up gets hurt and no doubt Derek will find a way to get off for this one too."

I buried my head in my hands. I suddenly feel his arms wrap around me, "I promise you that he won't ever hurt you again." I feel better about telling him about the one thing I was so ashamed of and that has haunted me for years.

Austin and I are finishing packing to get on with our journey together. I don't know where we're going next but as long as we keep moving forward it won't matter to either of us. We grab our bags and get ready to leave but there's a knock at the door. I answer it and feeling of disappointment dwells over me.

"Stephanie," One of the two police officers says. I guess our journey ends here for now.

Austin and I sit on a bench waiting for our family to come get us. Without a doubt my brother was the one who called the police and sent them to look for us. Austin and I decided to go as much as we wanted to run to more places together but sooner or later they would catch up to us.

I snap out of my thoughts as soon as I see Carlos charging at Austin, "You just couldn't stay away. Well now I'm going to make you." I stand in between the two and push Carlos back.

"_Mijo,_ this is not why we're here." _Ma_ turns to be and embraces me, "_Dio mio,_ Stephanie don't ever do something like that again. You scared me."

"_Lo siento ma pero_ I don't want to leave."

"We'll talk about it later let's just get you home." We start making our way towards the exit when we're stopped by Detective Andrews.

"Excuse me, I know now's a bad time but I must inform you on the case with Jorge."

"Did you talk to Derek?"

_Ma_ gasps and grips my arms tighter, "Derek? That boy hurt Jorge?"

"That's the thing…we did speak to him, but it's wasn't him who was driving the car."

"What are you talking about? Jorge saw him in that car before he hit him." I hate to think that Derek will get away with another crime.

He sighs, "He has a solid alibi and we don't have any other leads to go on."

"What about him?" Carlos nods his head towards Austin.

"He wouldn't do that." I say with full confidence that it wasn't him that could've done it.

"It's when you least expect it that they can do anything." I know he's talking about Derek, the one person who is responsible for all of this.

"I've already questioned him and he's cleared too." The detective clears his throat before speaking again, "You are all awfully quick to accuse Derek of this and I've read the case files that took place four years ago. Are you sure this isn't just retaliation against him?"

"What are you trying to say?" Carlos measures up to the detective, "Are you saying that we made the whole thing up? That we purposely ran over our childhood friend in order to blame Derek and get revenge for what he did to my little sister? Trust me detective, I would put him away myself if I could."

_Ma_ puts her hand on Carlos's shoulder, "_Hijo, vamonos ya por favor._"

Carlos led the way towards the exit. I look over at Austin, who had heard the entire thing; he had a look of worry on his face. I didn't want to leave him here at the police station all by himself until his dad came for him, but at this point I have to be with my family especially in this situation that I find myself into again. Derek isn't going to get convicted of this crime again and I hope that Austin will be true to his promise.


	14. Chapter 14

**Austin**

I can't believe Stephanie was right. Derek wasn't going to go to jail for running over Jorge. She has to be scared out of her mind knowing that he'll never do time for anything that he does. He could murder someone and still find a way to not be committed for it. Derek was close to killing Jorge, how much farther will he take it? I sit in the police station alone for about ten minutes until dad and Sarah both come jogging through the door followed by Brenda.

"Austin," dad shouted once his eyes found me, "are you okay, son?"

"Yeah, dad I'm fine."

"What in the world were you thinking?" Sarah immediately comes out with the lectures, "You are lucky that girl's mother wasn't going to press charges for kidnapping."

I ignore her nagging, "Dad, can we just go home now?"

After being released from the police station the cops hand over my car keys to dad but Sarah demanded that Brenda drive it home while she continues her rant on how I'm so irresponsible and how I could've ended up in jail. I blocked her out of my mind the whole ride home. My thoughts were only on Stephanie and what's going to happen now after we've come back. Is she still going to Mexico for who knows how long? Are we going to see each other again? So many questions puzzled me until we finally made it home and Sarah had quieted down about the whole thing.

We enter the house and the steer silence that was there before was gone just as Sarah's high heels hit the tile floor. I make my way towards the stairs but I'm stopped by dad's hand pulling me to the living room and sitting me down on the couch.

"This isn't like you, Austin." Dad started the question as he paced back and forth, "What was going through your head?"

Sarah scoffs, "I want to hear this." She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the couch.

I don't speak because even if I explained everything to them they would believe that it was all stupid and that I should grow up.

Sarah clears her throat, "Well we're waiting?"

I sigh, "Stephanie's family was going to make her go back to Mexico and I didn't know when or if I would ever see her again."

"Then let them. You don't go and kidnap her to take her to who knows where you two where planning on going to do who knows what." Sarah voice rose to the point where I could see veins coming out of her neck.

"Sarah, please," Dad tries to calm her.

"Honey, you are too easy on the boy. He needs discipline or else he won't stop doing these things that are going to eventually land him in jail or worse."

Suddenly a burst of frustration rushes through me. I jump up off the couch, "What do you know? You are not my mother and you never will be." I turn to face dad, "You want to know why I ran away with Stephanie, dad…because I didn't want to lose her and I didn't want her to fall in love with someone else. I wasn't going to let her go like you let mom go to find someone else to share the rest of her life with." I decide to end it there and go upstairs to my room to be alone.

I sit at my incliner office chair and play around with my skateboard until I hear my door open. I slide the chair side-to-side but I don't bother to turn to face the door. I figure its Brenda trying to get me to go back down stairs and talk to dad but I don't feel like fighting right now.

"Austin," I'm shocked to hear its dad coming to talk to me instead of forgetting about it. I hear him take a seat on the bed, "You know you were young when your mother left so you wouldn't understand what happened between us." I scoff keeping my silence hoping that he would drop the subject. "Do you really think I didn't try to keep your mother from leaving?"

"I don't see her around."

"Well you know I did. I begged her, for you, to stay and try to make it work but she refused and packed her stuff. I remember when I met your mother. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with her, watching you grow up, maybe even have another child, but things change over time. I know you're fighting to be with this girl but make sure you know what you're fighting for."

I slowly turn towards him, "No matter what anyone says…she's worth it."

A smile appears on his face, "Just like your dad."

The next afternoon I did what dad tried to do with my mom…fight. I drove my car down to Hector's Workshop where I know I'll find Carlos. I get out of the car to see Carlos with his head under a hood with Alex and another guy whom I'm assuming is his Uncle Hector.

"Hey Carlos," he takes his head out from under the hood.

He shakes his head at the sight of me. He grabs the bandanna out from his back pocket and walks over to me, "You got a lot of guts coming here you know that?"

"I like to take risks."

"What do you want, man? I already told you to stay away and I appreciate the fact that you did…for a day in a half."

"Look, I love your sister and I want to be with her." I step up to face him up close, "I don't care how many threats you give me so you're going to have to kill me if you want me to stay away from her." Alex sees me stepping up and comes to the aid of Carlos, but he stops him by putting his hand up.

"You know Stephanie probably didn't mention to you that I used to be a part of the Latino Blood."

I shrug my shoulders, "Is that supposed to scare me?"

"No, nothing scares you and I respect that, but in the Latino Blood whenever we wanted to join the group we had to go through a five minute beat in to show that we're tough enough and courageous enough to handle anything. The question to you is, are you willing go through anything for my sister?"

"Yes, just tell me when and where." I say without hesitation.

He smirks, "Midnight tonight, about five blocks from here there's an abandon warehouse down that way." He points to the area. "Don't be late."

After my confrontation with Carlos is made me feel good knowing that I'm one step closer to being with Stephanie, but I still have one thing left to do. I prepare to park in the driveway when I see Jake's car parked on the curb. He's sitting in front of my door step, but stands when he sees me.

"Bro, I've been trying to get a hold of you. What happened?"

"What do you want?" I say shutting the car door closed.

"Is it true that you and Stephanie left then cops had to bring you two back?" I look at him and he already knows the answer in my expression. He sighs, "Dude, I told you she's bad news."

"No, she's not."

"If you stay with her she's going to try and get money out of you one way or another just like she did with Derek. I mean all the girl wanted was the D you know?"

My anger took over and I pin Jake against the wall, "Don't talk about her like that. That shit with Derek is a lie. He tells guys like you that story so you can feel sympathy for him and look down Stephanie."

He pushes me back, "What are you talking about?"

I wave him off, "Forget it you wouldn't understand. You're already programmed to believe him. Besides I don't have time to deal with you right now I have some business to take care of later."

"Whoa, what did you do now?" He turns me around by pulling my shoulder.

"Why do you care?"

"I care because we're bros. Believe it or not but if something's going down I've got your back no matter what I think."

I think for a moment wondering if I can truly trust him to have my back, "Tonight, I'm going to face Carlos and his group at this warehouse…for Stephanie."

He stares at me in disbelief before speaking, "Then I'm there with you."

"I appreciate it but this is something I have to do alone or else I'll never get the full respect I need."

"Dude, you go there alone you're going to be screwed. At least let me get some backup for you."

"No, this is all me."

He walks back to his car speechless but the look on his face shows concern. I can understand Jake wanting to help but if he shows up then Carlos with think that I can't handle what he's going to dish out at me without someone holding my hand. This may be the only chance I get to earn the right to be with Stephanie and I won't lose it for anything.

* * *

**Stephanie**

Ever since I've been back from my little road trip with Austin I have been under house arrest. _Ma_ and I had a talk and she has trusted me enough to go back to work after she was called in for short staff. Every five minutes Carlos comes in to check if I'm still here. Eventually he left to go to work and Maria came over to keep me company.

She's finding my runaway scenario humorous, "I still can't believe that two left together."

"Alright, we've already established that now can we move on from that."

"Fine, so what did you guys do out there?"

I hesitated to answer, "We just drove to wherever the road led us to. It was nice to just get away for a little while."

Maria had her eyebrow arched, "Really? Is that all you two did just drive?" I shrugged my shoulders, "Steph, I've known you for a long time and I know that something else happened so you might as well tell me now."

"You know me too well."

Her jaw drops, "I knew it. You guys did it didn't you? How was he I mean is he decent size?"

I slap her knee, "Maria, _pervertido._"

"What, it's a legit question. Was it good, you know, considering it was the first time you had sex that you actually wanted."

"Yeah I get what you mean, but yeah it was amazing. It really did feel like it was the first time experiencing it."

"And without the pain plus you weren't even conscious enough to experience it the first time because of that _puto_."

I think about that morning all the time. I actually wanted him and I was able to get him on my terms.

I feel Maria's hand on my knee, "You know I was wrong about that white boy, he alright with me. After everything that's happened to you in your life you deserve happiness like him. You officially have my blessing."

"Unlike Carlos, whose approval I actually need." I sigh and put my head in my fist.

"Hey, he'll come around. I think anyways but if he sees what I see in you two love birds he'll understand."

I smile and try to change the subject, "I want to go out you do you want to go to the volleyball game with me?"

"Why those bitches got you kicked out remember?"

"Yeah, but they're still my team and I want to show them some support."

Maria chuckles, "Yeah right, you just want to watch them lose without you huh?"

"Oh Maria, you know me all too well."

While I'm getting my shoes on I hear the front door open and within a minute Carlos is standing at my door.

He looks over at Maria, "Hey can I talk to you really quick?"

"Sure?"

It takes about five or six minutes for Carlos and Maria to have their conversation. I could hear them mumble out in the hallway but I don't understand what they're saying. Finally Maria came back to my room with an expression on her face that I couldn't make out.

"What was that about?"

She rolls her eyes, "You know your brother just lecturing about keeping you out of trouble and update him on where you are."

It a complete pain to have to sit by and watch your team compete for the championship. I want to be out there and feel the adrenaline of the game. It's not fair seeing Megan taking my place as team captain. Maria gets annoyed when I shake my leg but it's only because I'm nervous. I spent the entire year training for this season and to have it taken away makes me feel like it was all a waste of time for me. If Megan wins the game tonight then I'm going to feel robbed. It was me who coordinated everyone to this point and I was the one who had to deal with all the pressure whenever we lost a game. Now I can't do anything but watch the entire thing take place.

The game had me on the edge of my seat and it all ended with our team losing. At first they had the lead but somehow the game took a spin when Megan served the ball out of bounce giving them the chance to get a point. I'm disappointed in the team. Maria and I make our way down the benches when I see Coach looking at me. She gives me a reassuring smile, but deep down she was disappointed too. Maria and I head to the parking lot but I stop when I feel a push against my back.

"Are you satisfied Stephanie? We lost because of you." Megan shouted causing a scene.

I sneer, "Last I checked you're the one in the uniform playing out there so I can't see how this is my fault."

"Well maybe if you weren't jealous of me then we wouldn't have this problem between us."

"Listen to yourself Megan, do you know how stupid you sound right now? I have a higher GPA than you, I have scholarships, and I was chosen as team captain first. So tell me in what area am I jealous of your life. You may hate me for the things you think I did but you know what that's your fault for believing in me and maybe if you were better at spiking a ball in the lines like than you are faking your boobs you would've have won the game."

She raises her hand to hit me, "You little…" She's cut off by one of my former teammate.

"Leave her alone, Megan. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't have made it this far. It was your dumbass that caused us to lose."

"You're actually taking her side?" Megan has a look of confusion on her face which is priceless to see.

"As a respected captain…yeah." She looks at me a gives me a reassuring nod of respect.

Megan doesn't say anything else but walks to her car and slams her gym bag into the back seat of her convertible.

I feel Maria put her arm around my shoulder, "It looks like they found out how cool you are the hard way huh?" I shake my head when I notice my other teammates sending me a nod or a smile to show that I was actually a bug factor in the team. "Alright let's go get some ice cream to celebrate their stupidity."

Maria and I take some time to ourselves to embrace the moment of tonight. Ever since I joined the volleyball team all I ever wanted was the respect of everyone on the team and after tonight I think I've earned it. Maria and I head back to my house before Carlos starts a search party for me again.

I walk into the kitchen and put my bag down when I noticed that Carlos isn't home since he's been on my back about getting home on time and he's not even here. I turn to Maria, "Where's Carlos?" She doesn't answer me nor does she look at me. "Okay, I guess I can call Austin before he gets home." I reach for my cell phone until I'm stopped by the little voice of Maria.

"He's not going to answer." She says keeping her eyes down looking at her shoes.

"What do you mean?" Again, she stays silent, "Maria, what are you talking about?" It looks as though she's about to answer but she closes her mouth again, "How do you know that he won't answer?" She knows something and wants to tell me, but she's not getting the words out of her mouth. Then it hits me, "Is he with Carlos?" Still silent, I grab her by the arms, "Maria, what is Carlos going to do? _Dios Maria dime, _Tell me."

She suddenly takes a deep breath, "Carlos challenged Austin to a beating for five minutes at midnight. If he can handle it then he'll let you two be together without any interference from him or the group. Carlos asked me to keep you busy until it was over but I can't lie to you."

A beating is what they do whenever they initiate a new member in their group, but people either end up seriously injured or dead. Knowing Carlos, he won't let him live the beating. I look at my watch to see that it will be midnight in seven-no, six minutes from now.

"Maria, where are they going to do the beating?" She went silent again. It hits me again, the warehouse, it's where they do all of the beatings that way the police could never see or interfere in the five minutes. It's nearly ten blocks away from here but I can't take the car there's too much of a hassle to drive.

I run out the door and I can hear Maria's last words, "You won't make it in time." I scoff. Watch me.


	15. Chapter 15

**Austin**

I pull up to the warehouse where it looks extremely abandoned, but I see a flicker of a flashlight through one of the windows. I look at the Rosario that Stephanie had given to me for protection. I unhook it from the rearview mirror and place it around my neck. I kiss it then tuck it in my shirt. Hopefully it will give me a lot of protection tonight.

As soon as I get inside I see Alex waiting for me with a flashlight in his hand. He crosses his arms, "Are you sure you want to do this, man?" His voice has a slight sound of worry for me.

I nod my head, "Yeah," I'm not backing out now. This is all or nothing for me.

Alex leads me to a room with plenty of space to have a party in. I walk in to see Carlos standing in the middle of the room surrounded by his group. Once I'm face-to-face with him I'm enclosed in a circle.

"Can't believe you actually showed up, _gringo_." He says through a chuckle.

I cock my head to the side, "I said I would."

He looks at his watch, "It's midnight. Are you ready because there's still a chance to back out?"

"Five minutes, right?" Carlos nods, "Then let's make them count."

It begins with a punch to the ribs and all the air possible knocked out of my body. I collapse to my knees to catch my breath but it's like trying to breathe through your nose when you have bad sinus…impossible. I look up to see bare knuckles making impact to my jaw. I think I heard a crack from the connection. I begin to think at this point of the beating is she worth it? Am I really willing to get the crap beat out of me just to be with a girl? Would she even want me after the way I'm going to end up looking if I survive this? I ask these questions and I come back to the same answer…hell yeah she's worth it.

Besides it's only been a minute.

* * *

**Stephanie**

This can't be happening right now. I still have four blocks to go until I get to the warehouse and its 12:02. The beating has to have already started and it will not end until those five minutes are up. Why would Austin be so stupid to agree to this? I can't let this beating end in the full five minutes. I stand at a crosswalk for a few seconds but it feels like five minutes. I can't wait here while the man I love is getting the hell beat out of him and is possibly closed to death. I race across the lanes dodging cars as they honk at me to move. I hear one loud honk of a car.

Steering pain rushes through my side as I hit the windshield of the car and roll off the hood onto the road. I'm suddenly surrounded by pedestrians and people from the cars. I roll over to get to my hands and knees. I reach for my necklace and I stroke the sapphire stones outlining the cross. I can already feel that my left wrist is broken or at least fractured, but it doesn't stop me from getting to my feet. The woman who hit me with the car tries to hold me down until the paramedics arrive but I can't stay. I shake her off me and begin sprinting to the sidewalk. I'm running out of time and I'm so close to the place.

Nothing can keep me from getting to that warehouse within the five minutes I have. If I get hit by another car I'm going to get back up, broken bones and all. Austin wouldn't give up on me so I won't on him. If I die getting there then Carlos will know what he did to cause this and I can be with Austin forever. I'm almost there…two blocks left.

It's now 12:04.


	16. Chapter 16

**Austin**

I lost track of the time after the two punches to my eye and a kick in the ribs. I taste pennies in my mouth as I spit out the red colored saliva. The way the pain goes away is if I'm thinking about Stephanie. I think about the time we were at the beach together, her dark brown curls blowing past her shoulders and those bright green eyes looking right at me. I can last this and I'll be with her.

"How long has it been?" I hear Carlos ask.

"Four minutes," Alex answers, "You still got a minute left."

Carlos doesn't say anything, he just nods and walks out of sights. I'm on my hands and knees trying to get up but the weight of my body feels heavier than it really is. My breathing has become much harder to do. My ribs crack just trying to expand my chest. I can't see my face but I know that my left eye is beginning to swell shut. I suddenly hear a sound I can't quite process what it is. It sounds like someone dragging a piece of metal across the concrete floor. I balance myself on my knees and look over my shoulder to see Carlos with a metallic baseball bat in his hand.

"Here's the last hit of the five minutes, _gringo._" He put the bat over his shoulder. With so much effort I lift my chin and I catch a glimpse of his eyes, they're green just like his sister.

"Ten seconds, Carlos." Alex says.

Carlos doesn't respond. He grips the bat with both his hands and winds up his arms. This is it. This hit could possibly kill me, but I don't care. The only thing I see in my head is Stephanie's beautiful smile, a special kind of smile that she only gives to me and no one else. I crack a smile with blood dripping down the side of my lip as I wait for my end and my new beginning.

I see an angel, my angel, coming towards me.

* * *

**Stephanie**

After swinging open the door and stopping Carlos just in time I run towards Austin. He's on his knees in the middle of the room with a slight smile on his face along with a busted lip. I skid on Austin covering my body with his to protect him from the hit Carlos was planning on initiating.

"_Stephanie__, __aléjate de él ahora,_" He grabs a hold of my arm but I push his hand away.

I bury my face in Austin's neck, "No, if you're going to beat him with that bat then you'll have to hit me too." The room is silent with shock that I would be willing to stand against my brother for this guy.

"He still has ten seconds left." He says through gritted teeth.

I release my hold on Austin's body and jolt towards Carlos, "_¿Qué te pasa?_ What's wrong with you?" I shove him away, "Aren't you satisfied yet? What more is it going to take for you to see? _Abre los ojos, o_pen your eyes."

I kneel back down in front of Austin and hold him in my arms. He's weak and practically broken. I hold his head in my hands barely able to look into his hazel eyes with the swelling closing them. There's a bruise on the apple of his cheek going up to his eyebrow. There's blood dripping everywhere on his face from his eyebrow to his nose. I see that he's wearing the Rosario I gave him under his shirt. It's covered in his blood now. I slowly wipe the blood off his lip with my thumb as he kisses it.

I suddenly hear the baseball bat fall to the ground making a loud echo that spread around the room. I look up at Carlos; he doesn't have anger in his eyes anymore.

"Congratulations you two," He mutters, "You passed."


	17. Chapter 17

**Austin**

"What are you talking about?" Stephanie says. I never loosen my grip around her waist. I take in the smell of her body and her hair. Her voice vibrating in my ear is like music to my soul.

"It was all planned from when Maria was supposed to tell you about all this to this point at the end of the five minutes."

"Why?" I manage to lift my head up but quickly lands on Stephanie's shoulder.

"I wanted to see how far you two were truly willing to go for each other," He exhales a laugh, "He was willing to take a beating for five minutes and you were willing to run ten blocks in under seven minutes especially since the only road you could take was the one with the most traffic."

Another smile appears from my face hearing that Stephanie had to run so far just to stop me from getting myself involved in this. She'd been willing to risk her life for me as I would do for her.

"The way I see it," Carlos grabs a hold of my arm to lift me to my feet, "You two really love each other." He pats my shoulder. It stings but I suck it up in respect for his blessing.

I take Stephanie in my arms, "Come on, Austin. Let's get out of here." She puts my arm over her neck.

Suddenly we're stopped by a group led by Derek, "How about you let our buddy go and we won't call the cops to arrest all of you for assault."

"How did you find this place?" Alex asks.

Derek looks over his shoulder. Jake comes out from behind him with an apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry man, but you weren't thinking straight and I didn't want you to get killed." I understand his reasons but he shouldn't have brought Derek of all people.

Carlos and a few others of his friends step up to Derek. "We don't want any problems. He's already survived his five minute beating like a man. If you don't leave your beating will last much longer and twice as painful, _entiendes_?"

Derek chuckles, "I get it, get a beating and get to bang your sister?" I want to punch the smile off his face and I know Carlos wants to but he's holding back. "I guess I'm lucky considering I already banged your little sister." That's when the first punch was thrown.

Stephanie drags me away from the fighting that quickly escalates from just between Carlos and Derek to everyone in the room. She puts me up against a wall on the far side of the fight. It's chaos in the room just like a royal rumble with bodies flying everywhere. We watch as every human body went at each other for a long while it seems. Stephanie tightens her grip on my hand when she sees her brother getting hit but he can handle himself.

* * *

**Stephanie**

I can't stand aside and watch my big brother fight Derek. I know Carlos can defend himself but Derek will do anything to win at all cost. Carlos is on the ground from a knee to his gut and on his knees. Derek is reaching for the baseball bat. I launch myself to Carlos's aid leaving behind Austin.

"Steph, wait." I can hear the worry in his voice, but I refuse to watch my brother get beaten with his own bat.

Derek picks up the bat. As he's bending back up to stand I jump on his back. I try to choke him to unconsciousness but he manages to flip me over in front of him. There's extreme pain in my lower back as I hit the concrete. Carlos manages to get up and tackle Derek at the waist but he doesn't fall over. Derek shoves his elbow into Carlos's spine then sticks the bat into his gut and pushes him back. I rise to my feet and grab a hold of the bat. Derek and I are struggling to gain control of the bat. Before he can overpower me with his strength advantage I raise my knee in his crotch then he releases the bat in my hands. He groans in pain and manages to hit me with the back of his hand. His knuckles make contact with my cheek bones, causing me to drop the bat.

"You stupid bitch," He reaches for my throat but is cut off by Austin. He throws nonstop punches at Derek but he's over powered from the lack of energy he has left. Derek reaches for something behind his back, "I'm ending this right now." He pulls out a gun and points it at me. I clench my eyes shut waiting for the impact of the bullet to enter my body. I hear a loud pop sound echo in my ear. Instead of a bullet I feel a hand on my shoulder then a force pushes me to the ground. I open my eyes to see Jake with his arm over me and a red stain beginning to soak through his grey shirt.

I leap over to put pressure on the wound, "Hang on, Jake." I push my palm into his shoulder. He lets out a loud shriek of pain as the blood seeps through my fingers, "I'm sorry, but I have to apply pressure to stop the bleeding."


	18. Chapter 18

**Austin**

Stephanie is aiding Jake after taking the bullet for her. Derek points the gun at Carlos next. Reaching for his wrist I throw a punch to his jaw and knock the gun out of his hand. I kick the gun away causing it to disappear into the corner. I manage to deliver a head butt, but Derek manages to punch me hard enough to knock me down. Suddenly Derek pulls a knife out of his front pocket and coming straight towards me with it. I look over to see Carlos take a swing at him then a miss as Derek sway the knife across his chest halfway past his shoulder. Knowing the next move I jump in to stop the attempt of ending Carlos's life.

I stand in between the two and feel a pinch in abdomen as the steel blade cuts through my skin like butter. I get lightheaded to the point that I'm seeing two of Derek's smirking face. I fall back waiting to hit the hard cold floor but I feel arms hinging underneath mine. I turn my head to see Carlos slowly lowering me to the ground. My eyelids start to become heavier as I watch Derek coming towards us with the knife covered with my blood.

"So, this is how it ends." he says laughing with a red smile.

_POP, POP._

Two loud bangs echo throughout the room leaving behind an everlasting echo. Derek's smile slowly disappears as he looks down at his shirt. Two red stains begin to drip through his blue button up shirt. I don't know how much longer I can keep my eyes open. He drops the knife by his foot then collapse to his knees behind him stands Stephanie with the gun in her hand and tears in her eyes her hand unsteady while the smoke disappeared from the barrel of the gun. Falling on his back with his eyes gazing at the ceiling not another breathe left his body. Stephanie drops her hand to her side and tosses the gun away.

She runs to me, "Austin!" her voice was full of sorrow…her sweet voice still sweet even in pain.

My eyelids drop then darkness comes.

There's pain and soreness all over my body. My head's throbbing and my abdomen burns. No feeling in my face. No sound but muffled words come from nearby. Where am I? Where's Stephanie? Is she okay? With so much will power I lift my eyelids but they don't open. I listen hard to the mumbles as they begin to clear up. I even try to move my body but every limb is paralyzed with pain.

"Stephanie, you should head home and get some sleep." The voice sounds like dad.

"I'm fine really," Stephanie's voice vibrates through my body relieving the pain I have, "I want to be here when he wakes up."

"I just want to say thank you for saving his life." Dad says with a sincere voice.

"No, he saved mine." There's a tight grip on my left hand. I try so hard to life my eyelids just to see her again. I want to see her sweet angelic face but my body won't allow it.

Before I can hear anymore voices I fall back to sleep.

I open my eyes to specs of blurry lights. As my vision clears I manage see a clean room, a hospital room. It's a bright room with the sun rising through the wide windows. My head and abdomen still ache with steering pain. I manage to move my right arm but only to the extent of the IV attached to it. I rub my eyes and look over to the bed side to see a pleasing picture. Stephanie is sleeping soundly leaning against the bed her head resting on her folded arms. I notice a purple cast on her left arm wrapped around her wrist. She must have hurt it through the struggle in the warehouse. I reach out to pull a strand of hair out of her face and put it behind her ear.

She awakens slowly raising her head off the bed her gorgeous green eyes looking up at me, "Hi," I whisper.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she mutters.

I scoff, "I feel like I got the crap beat out of me and stabbed."

She smirks, "Yeah, you got a couple nice stitches to show for that."

"Where is everyone?" the room is empty and the only sounds I hear are from the outside.

"Your dad went home to check on Sarah and Brenda. Carlos and everyone else are down the hall visiting Jorge."

"How's he doing?"

"Other than hating hospitals, he's doing well."

"Is Jake alright?"

"Yeah, he lost a lot of blood but as soon as he got here they took him in for a blood transfusion and because of what he did-saving my life-he earned some respect from Carlos and a few others."

I brush some Stephanie's hair out of her face to see a bruise on her cheek and a bandage on her eyebrow, "And what about you? You took a pretty big beating."

She smiles which makes me feel better about the pain I'm feeling right now, "It's going to take more than a car to hurt me. It broke my wrist but didn't stop me."

I suddenly remembered how we ended up here, "What happened with Derek?"

Stephanie's green eyes look down, "He's dead. I killed him."

"You had to, he was going kill someone."

"Detective Andrews came here looking for me but I was being observed by doctors so he couldn't take me in for questioning. He'll be back and he'll arrest me for what I did."

"No, he can't just arrest you. It was all in self-defense. Plus, there were witnesses."

"Austin, they won't believe us. Derek and I have history and they have a motive for me killing him. All they need is one witness to say that I killed him on purpose from the beginning and I go to jail."

"I won't let that happen. I will vouch for you."

Our conversation comes to an end when the door opens and Detective Andrews comes in. He looks at me then back over to Stephanie with a look on his face that is unusual.

"How are you two feeling?" He asks putting his hands in his pockets.

I squeeze Stephanie's hand, "You're not arresting her."

"You're right I'm not." I loosen my grip, "We searched Derek's home. We found photos of you and some other girls along with a notebook explaining his rapes. His housekeeper also admitted to lying for him about his alibi the night of your friend Jorge's assault. She said he threatened her to support his whereabouts. When we questioned Derek's friends about the fight they told us everything from how he had the gun and then the knife."

"So what happens now?" She asks hesitantly.

"Well first off, I and the entire police station owe you an apology for not seeing the truth years ago. Secondly, the case will be closed as an act of self-defense and there will be no charges against you."

Stephanie nods as a tear rolls down her cheek, "Thank you."

For the first time Stephanie was relieved to hear news from police. She was crying from joy not from fear or sadness. For so long she was portrayed by whatever Derek had told people about her but now she can be who she wants to be. There was so much pain on her face before and after the news she has a completely different look.

* * *

**Stephanie**

I told everyone about the news they were relieved to hear that I wasn't going to jail for what I did. I sat with Austin feeling overwhelmed by what the Detective told us. For the first time in four years I feel that the truth of what happened to me is being known now with the proof that I needed. Plus I was with Austin and no more interference by Carlos or anyone else. I feel like things are getting better for us. I'm snapped out of my thoughts when there a sudden knock on the door and Jorge enters the room on crunches.

"Jorge, should you be out of bed?"

"Doctors say I should work on getting used to them considering I'm actually getting out of this horrid hospital soon." He says as he takes a seat. "Probably be awhile until you get out so enjoy this place at night."

"Thanks, I'll keep it in mind."

"So Carlos told me about what you guys did for each other and I got to say pretty intense shit."

"If you call getting away with murder pretty intense then what else is there?" I say sarcastically.

"Well I did say that karma was going to get him and the truth was going to come out. It may have led me to getting run over but it was a fact but I'd never think it would be you giving it to him."

"Are you just here to make of me because we can't handle that right now?"

"No, I came here to show some respect for the man who toughed it out for five minutes of a beating." Jorge stands to shake Austin's hand. "You know I spent years looking out for Stephanie and I'm glad to know that there's someone else who cares just as much as I do. Take care of her, man."

"You know I will."

After all the struggle Austin and I have been through we finally managed to be with each other and with the acceptance of my and his family all together. Considering Austin and I saved one another the people who disliked us now cared for us. To begin with I never thought I would ever be happen with someone again and then Austin came along and I was able to enjoy my life. All I ever wanted to do was overwhelm myself with school work to be a better person but in reality I just wanted to keep my mind away from the bad memories that continued to haunt me after I tried to pretend they were over. Considering even Derek's friend told the truth for us then maybe things between Whites and Hispanics will change for the good. All I know is that Austin and I are happy together and nothing can ever ruin it.


	19. Chapter 19

**Three Months Later**

As soon as Austin was released from the hospital, he and I began our lives as a normal couple. Over time our friendship grew from just us to the rest of the school. After graduation Carlos and Austin started bonding with each other while fixing cars together. Now they have nothing but respect for one another. Jake was cleared from the hospital a few days after Austin. He and I have gotten to know each other after saving my life and taking a bullet for me. I introduced him to Maria and they have managed to hit their relationship off fairly quickly. It was showing that things really have changed.

Today we're at the beach, the same beach Austin and I shared our first kiss, for a fun Fourth of July party with our family and closes friends. Austin, Carlos and the rest of the boys are playing beach football as the rest of us girls set up the food and drinks that we made.

"What is this called again?" Sarah asks. While I was waiting for Austin to wake up in the hospital Sarah and I had a talk. She told me about how she tries her hardest to raise Austin as her own son and as a mother she sees how much we were willing to risk it all for one another.

"Those are _tamales_. There are some with beef and sweet ones." I point to the two different trays of tamales on the table.

"You made these yourselves?" She turns to _ma_, "You taught your daughter well."

"I better have considering I nearly raised her by myself." Moments like these are the time I wish dad was still around.

Brenda came up beside me to serve lemonade. I put my hand on her wrist, "Brenda, it's a relaxing day take a break."

"She's right, you work too hard. Take a seat." Sarah says which surprises all of us including Brenda. She takes the seat with the rest of us on the bench.

I look over to see Maria sitting at the top of the sand hill. She's watching the boys play football out on the field. They were playing soccer earlier and it was a little funny to watch considering Austin and Jake were somewhat hopeless in the game. They rotated teammates after a few games to keep it fair. It's also nice to see Austin spending some time with his dad as well.

I take a seat next to Maria and nudge her shoulder, "So whatever happened to I'd never date a _gringo_ as long as I live?"

She laughs, "Alright, so I was wrong about that. White boys aren't that bad. Are you going to hold it against me forever?"

"Nah, just glad you're happy like I am." I tap her shoulder, "Come on let's finish setting up the table."

Another touchdown for Carlos's team, "_¿Qué pasa?_ I thought football was your sport?"

"Okay, you know what we're letting you win." I say.

"I thought that was my job, son." Dad responds high-fiving Carlos and Alex.

My team consists of me, Jake, and Jorge while Carlos had my dad and Alex on his side. Ever since I got out of the hospital dad has been trying to spend more time with me which is a normal thing to get since I almost died from being stabbed. I've also been able to accept Sarah as my stepmom now she doesn't complain as much as she used to.

"Alright you may have won at soccer but now this is our sport." Jake says picking up the football.

"What he said, but if we lose I blame them." Jorge says pointing at us.

"Not going to happen."

We ended up winning the football game and I was able to rub it in my old man's face. After the game we ate dinner and prepared for the fireworks to start. We all sat on the shoreline of the beach as the sun just finished setting. Stephanie is sitting in between my legs with her head lying back against my shoulder.

"What an exciting day," she says looking up at me, "I don't think it can get any better."

I smile as I kiss her temple, "I think there's one more exciting thing that can happen tonight."

She laughs, "Like what,"

I whisper into her ear, "Just wait," and she did. The fireworks began to erupt in the dark sky. I reach into my pocket for the little black box I've been holding onto for the past two days and open it in front of her.

She gasps, "Austin, wha-" Her voice trails off when she picks up the silver ring with a circle diamond in between two smaller squared diamonds.

"Will you marry me?" She gave me her answer when she jumped on me and drowned me with her warm kisses.


End file.
